Nothing is as it seems
by Hey Everyone
Summary: How would you react if something you didn't believe in existed? Claire is the new girl in town, though she doesn't know the secret—not yet anyway.
1. Chapter 1-The Revelation

**CHAPTER 1**

The weather was hot. Too hot in fact. Claire sat in Common Grounds, sipping on a cold ice water, her physics book lying on the table, opened to the page she was studying.

Most people would be out at the local swimming pool, but here she was, studying for a test she had next week. One thing about Claire: She liked to do well at school.

Being sixteen and in college put a lot of stress on Claire. Although the work was easy for her, making friends was hard. She had had a person to hang out with, but Kiera had transferred to a different college in the first week Claire had been at school, leaving Claire to befriend herself again.

Claire didn't mind much anyway, it gave her more time to focus on her studies. Kiera had been awesome, a school junkie like her, but there hadn't been much love lost when the other girl had left.

Sighing and finishing off her water, Claire went to order another one. She left her backpack at the table, her eyes glued to it. No one would take it, there wasn't enough people, but she had grown up with being conscious and possessive of her belongings.

The goth girl took her order, and the water came in seconds. "Thank you," Claire muttered, walking back to her seat. Someone got in her way and she crashed into them. Her water spilt and the girl turned on her.

"You alright there klutz?" the mystery girl spat, her tone poisonous.

"I'm sorry, you came out of nowhere." Claire kept her cool, but the girl's eyes burned a hole into her face. "It's water, I'm sure it'll dry."

The girl raised her eyebrows and shoved Claire. "The fact that you wet me, there's gonna be a problem. Since you wet me when I have a date, then you better start running." The girl pushed Claire again, and this time Claire stumbled into the chairs behind her, the glass slipping and shattering on the tiles.

Claire straightened, the girl from behind the counter running over. "Monica, leave her alone," the goth demanded. "Just leave."

Monica flicked her blonde hair behind her shoulders and marched off, but not before she landed a punch to Claire's face. The blonde's fist buried itself straight into Claire's nose, a crunching noise singing out.

The girl next to Claire was about to pounce onto Monica, but arms wrapped her from behind. "Eve," a man's deep voice warned. "Don't get into this."

"Don't get into it? Oliver, you saw what that bitch just did. How could you ask me to sit out?"

Oliver sighed letting Eve go. "Please, you know what'll happen. You could get fired."

"You'd sack me?" The girl sounded honestly surprised. Monica had rambled away, her back straight and shining blonde hair over her shoulders.

Eve and Oliver -her boss- were still talking, until Claire interrupted to say, "Thank you. I would be a lot worse if it hadn't been for you." Even to her own ears, Claire's voice came out strange. Her nose was out of place, blood dripping into her hand. "Anyone have any idea where the hospital is?" she asked, tilting her head down.

Walking away, Eve returned with a skull purse in her hand. "I'll take you," she said, grabbing Claire's elbow and towing her out. Unlocking a Cadillac, Claire noticed that Eve expected her to jump in.

Claire reluctantly did, noticing she had left her belongings in the coffee shop. "Shit," she quietly murmured, but Eve had heard her.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "What happened?"

"I left my stuff in Common Grounds," Claire replied, cursing inwardly at her stupidity.

Eve got out and returned with Claire's book and bag. "Here ya go." Claire thanked her and held a tissue to her nose. It hurt, but Claire was too focused on not getting blood in the car.

Stopping in front of the hospital, Eve jumped out and helped Claire, walking with her to the entrance. "You don't have to come," Claire reassured the older girl.

"I want to," she said. "And after this, you're coming back to mine."

Claire stared, her voice caught in her throat. "Why?" she asked. Not long after, she realised how rude she had sounded. "Oh, my God, that was so rude, I'm sorry. I meant why do you want me to go to your house?"

"To make sure you're safe from Monica."

Claire didn't understand why she had to be protected from a girl she would most likely never see again. "I accidentally wet her with water, she got her revenge. Why would she come after me again?"

"Okay, you are definitely new to town. Monica is the Mayor's daughter, she gets what she wants. Even if you just glance at her when she is in a bad mood, then that's it for you. But like she said, you spilt water on her when she was going to her date. She overreacts. Like, a lot."

They reached the doors of the hospital before Claire could say anything else. The receptionist booked her in, and Claire was on her way to get her nose popped back into place in no time.

Eve pulled up in front of a huge house. The sun was going down, and the sunset made the house glow dimly in the light. Lights were on in the house, and Eve cut the engine. "Okay, we have to make a run for it. Get to the front porch, and if you reach it before me, just bang on the door."

Claire didn't ask questions, just jumped out and made a run for it. Eve was ahead of her, reaching the door and unlocking it in the fastest time Claire had ever seen. She dove inside, Claire not far from her.

Slamming the door, Eve leaned against it, a laugh exploding from her lips. Claire opened her mouth to say something but Eve called out before she could. "Yo, homies, anyone here?" There was no answer, so Eve screamed out again. "Shane, I can smell your chilli man, answer me!"

Grumbling, Eve threw her keys on the nearby table and stormed down the big hall. Claire started off to follow, but before she could, a guy appeared in front of her. He was walking, his head turned to where Eve had gone, and before she knew it, the big guy had crashed into Claire.

She went down with an oof, and he peered down at her, grabbing her hand and hauling her to her feet. He looked at her, but then Eve's shoes came clacking down the hall.

The boy pulled her into the nearest room, one arm wrapped around her chest, holding her to him, and his other hand covering her mouth. Claire struggled, but the brown haired guy was too strong.

"Shane!" Eve screamed again. "Really?" Eve exhaled. "Now you've abducted the new girl?"

The man laughed, the vibrations rumbling Claire's back. "You the new girl?" he whispered into her ear. Claire nodded and her legs started trembling. "I'm Shane," he whispered to her again. "Pleased to meet ya."

Shane let her go and pushed her behind him, pressing his ear to the door, obviously listening. He leaned in further, wincing when the door creaked under his weight. Out of nowhere, the slab was banged open, Shane tumbling out and Eve standing with her arms crossed over her chest.

The black haired girl was gazing down at Shane who was on the floor. She laughed and gave him a helping hand up. She spotted Claire and pulled her out. "Really? Planning on scaring her already?"

Shane shrugged and said, "She would've told you where I was if I didn't."

"She probably thought you were a fucking serial killer, Shane."

Shane laughed, the lines at his eyes wrinkling up. "Where'd you find her anyway?"

"Common Grounds." Shane gave her a stern look, and she sighed, saying, "Its alright, she isn't one. She bleeds."

"And so do they," he spat, grabbing Claire by the arm. "It was nice to meet you, but now you have to go."

Before Shane could pull Claire to the door, Eve jumped out in front of him. "C'mon, dude, it's night. She could get killed."

"I highly doubt they'd kill their own," Shane said, ducking past Eve. "You gotta stop bringing in strays, Eve."

The phone sounded and Eve huffed, running to catch the phone before it stopped ringing. Claire couldn't hear what she was saying, and she tried to strain her hearing, but she was jolted back into reality by Shane's squeezing grip.

Shane opened the door, pushing Claire over the threshold. "Run. Run as far and as fast as you can."

Claire was confused, but before she could ask anything, the door was banged shut in her face. "That's about right," she spoke to herself. "Only I would get taken by a complete and utter stranger, only to be kicked out to walk home alone by her hottie of a boyfriend."

She was so busy ranting to herself that Claire didn't know someone was following her until she got knocked into a nearby wall. Groaning, Claire climbed up, getting to her feet and spinning around.

"Who's there?" she screamed out. No one appeared, but then she got knocked down again. "What do you want?"

Claire got up again, almost instantly being thrown into the wall again. This time she hit her head, blood flowing strongly from the wound. Pressing her hand to her head, Claire bit back a gasp as a man appeared in front of her.

"W-what do you want?" Claire stuttered. The man loomed over her, making Claire cower away as he glared at her.

"Blood," he growled. Claire scurried away, her hand out to protect her. The figure leant down, picking Claire up by her throat.

Claire squirmed, desperate to get free. The person was strong, stronger than Shane, and as the man put his mouth over Claire's pulse, a horn beeped. Claire stared, car headlights meeting her eyes. Wincing away, she saw the black Cadillac that blended into the night.

A car door was thrown open and someone came hurtling out. A muscular body barrelled into the figure holding Claire, and the dark figure lost his balance, Claire's small frame sliding free.

A smaller figure jumped out of the car, stopping to help Claire up. "Are you okay? Hurt?" Eve whispered to Claire. Claire shook her head, brown hair whipping her in the face. Grabbing her elbow, Eve towed Claire back to the car.

Shane met them halfway, outrunning them. He reached the car and jammed the keys in, shifting the car into drive. The man from earlier stopped her and Eve. Claire didn't see his face properly -it was hooded and in the dark- but his posture changed and when he talked, he sounded like he was smiling.

"Oh, Eve, long time no see. What have you up to dear?"

Eve dug her fingers into Claire's arm, forcing a gasp of pain to escape Claire's lips. "Go away, Brandon. Going after younger girls, are we? I always you were a perverted pedophile. No one believed me though," she added after as though an afterthought had hit.

"I don't choose how tasty they look," he purred. "I can almost taste her."

Claire was disgusted. This man was talking about her like she was some sort of food he wanted to devour. Eve made a sound of disgust, and Claire could feel the other girl pushing her behind and away.

"There's rules," Eve breathed, stepping back, forcing Claire to follow with her action. "You know what'll happen." Brandon shrugged, pouncing at them.

The engine of the car roared, lights pouring onto the man in front of them. Claire didn't get to look at him as Eve pushed her into the car. Brandon was looking away, temporarily blinded by the rush of light.

Once inside, Shane took off before Eve could get the door closed, but she didn't mind. They were almost back at the house when Claire started to worry. "What the Hell was that? He was talking about…eating me. I think."

Eve sighed, Shane doing the same. He punched the steering wheel, making it beep. "There's something you need to know," Eve finally said. "This town isn't like any other."

"I realised that. It's old, dusty, and full of lunatics."

Eve smiled and let out a chuckle. "That's true, especially if when referring to lunatics you mean Shane, but that isn't what I'm talking about." The older boy in the front let the insult slip, and Eve carried on. "This town," she enunciated, "is run by vampires."


	2. Chapter 2-Defeated

**CHAPTER 2**

"_Vampires_?" Claire asked. "There's no such thing." The three of them were back at the house, Claire pacing back and forth, leaving Shane and Eve to sit awkwardly on the couch.

Eve stood up, grabbing Claire by the shoulders and forcing her to stop in her tracks. "Dude, chill. I'll admit, I don't understand what you're going through. I know it's a lot to accept, but you have to believe us. Morganville is crowded with vamps, but there are rules."

Before Claire could object, a deep voice spoke. "She's right. It'd be suicide to not believe her."

Looking behind the girl in front of her, Claire saw a third person. "Who are you?" Claire shrieked, staring at the half naked man in front of her.

"Michael Glass, owner of this house—the Glass House." Michael walked towards her and extended his hand to her. "And you are?"

Claire didn't know what to do. Does she tell him her name or keep her moth shut? Before she could comprehend what she was doing, Claire's mouth was moving and sound was coming out. "I'm Claire. Claire Danvers."

She shook the blonde guy's hand, looking him in the eyes. Michael's eyes were a deep blue, his hair shoulder-length and golden, his body fit and muscular. "Nice to meet you, Claire Danvers."

"You too," she whispered, her eyes unwilling to move from his face. "So, since there are vampires out, where am I supposed to go? How do I get home?"

Eve's head snapped back around to face Claire, and her eyes twinkled with cheerfulness. "I know," she screamed, her voice high and chirpy. "You can stay here. We have a spare bedroom you could use."

"Eve," Shane warned, getting to his feet. Eve stared him down, not giving up anytime soon. Knowing that fact made Shane turn to Michael. "Mikey, talk to her. This could be dangerous."

Michael shook his head, turning back to Eve. "He is right Eve. She could be a killer. There isn't just vampires in this town."

Claire was appalled. How could they talk bad things about her so easily when she was right there? You didn't hear her questioning them. Eve's motives to keep her at the Glass house could go downhill and leave Claire lying dead somewhere.

"If she were a killer, then how come she only has books in her backpack? Wouldn't she have knives and other sharp, pointy killy things?"

"Eve, wrong in so many ways," Shane sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Ever seen knives in our drawers?" Shane walks into a room that Claire suspected was the kitchen. Her suspicions were proved correct when the brown haired guy returned with a big looking butcher's knife swaying helplessly from his large hands. "A house is the best place for weapons. Why would she carry "sharp, pointy killy things" in a _backpack_?"

Turning her glare to Shane, Eve gave him the bird. "Well excuse me, I don't always consider people to be like my father," she spat. As soon as the words left her lips her hand automatically flew to her mouth. "Shane, I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Just remember my dad wasn't the only abusive one," Shane told her, throwing the knife point first into the ground. "But yeah, I am paranoid about everyone being like my father." He stormed up to his room and Eve tried to follow, but Michael stopped her.

"Low blow Eve," Michael uttered. "That was stupid."

Eve's hand went to her eyes and Claire knew she was crying, the violent shaking of her shoulders also giving that away. Shane came marching down, a jacket thrown over the grey T-shirt he was wearing.

He barged past his friends, ignoring Eve and grabbing the keys off the table. He turned to Claire, speaking to her for the first time since they rescued her. "You need a lift home?"

Claire nodded, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder. "Yes please," she spoke softly.

Shane opened the door, but not before he got a tissue from the box on the table and turned to her. Putting spit onto the tissue, Shane turned to Claire and rubbed the softness across her head where she had banged it during her encounter with Brandon. She squirmed and squeaked, but Shane held one hand to her back.

Once he was done, he threw the tissue onto the table, taking her hand and dragging her out. "Shane," a voice called out. Michael was standing in the doorway, Eve hurtling after the two of them.

"What are you doing?" the girl screamed at Shane. "Are you stupid? Do you really want to die? Not only will you be killing yourself, but you'll be getting Claire killed. Please, come back in. I'm sorry I was stupid; please just forgive me."

Shane slowed, his hold on Claire still tight. "I'll be back, don't worry about it. I have my phone if you get too paranoid. Only call me if you get too worried," he added at Eve's look.

When he finished talking, Shane towed Claire to the black Cadillac. "Get in, put your seatbelt on," he ordered. Claire did as she was told whilst Shane jumped into the driver side. "Where do you live?" he asked her, none too nicely.

"C-campus," Claire stuttered.

Shane looked at her, his eyebrows risen. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Sixteen," Claire answered quietly.

"Look, I just have to make a stop first. It'd be great if you could stay in the car for five, ten minutes tops."

Claire was astounded, but she didn't say anything. Not until they pulled up. "It isn't that far, so I'm just gonna walk." As she reached for the door, Shane locked it.

"That is most definitely not happening. I'd rather Eve not kill me."

Claire faltered, her arm falling by the side of the chair. "Then let me come with you. The vampires will probably kill me out here, so what's the use in staying?"

The brown haired guy stared at her, his lips curling back as he growls. "Now I understand why you're in college."

Was that just a compliment from the guy who had been an ass to her since Eve told him where they had met? Claire couldn't believe it, but from the way his eyes slid to her, he had just been nice to her.

"Don't get use to that. I was just saying you were smart, that you thought of something that I obviously didn't think about."

Claire smiled, she couldn't help it, and said, "Do you always compliment serial killers?"

Shane tried to hold back a smile, but Claire let a grin spread as she saw him fail. "Okay, fair enough. Eve was right, I do always assume people are like my father. If they aren't vampires, they're killers."

"Well I can promise you this: I am not a killer. And I'm not a vampire either."

Unlocking and jumping out of the car, Shane ran around and helped Claire out, dragging her up the pathway and steps to the door. He banged on the wood, waiting anxiously for an answer. There was none, so he pounded harder.

Still no answer, so he grabbled for something in the nearby pot plant. He cursed, not finding what he wanted. "Mum, dad, open up!" he screamed. Pounding harder, Shane held onto Claire's hand when there was a nearby rustle. "Shit," he cursed.

A man popped up behind them, and Claire saw that it was the man from earlier. "Children. Stupid, stupid children. What are you two doing here?"

Shane turned around, his hand releasing Claire and slamming into Brandon's face. "Piss off," Shane warned him, kicking the door. Shane drew in a breath, ready for another scream. "Alyssa," he called. "Alyssa, open the fucking door."

There was a rattle on the other side of the door, and then a slap sounded out. Shane's jaw tensed, and he missed the punch that he tried to land in the vampire's face.

Someone called out, but it was more of a beg then a shout out to Shane. "Leave her alone," Shane demanded, turning back to the door. "Just open this door."

Feeling hopeless, Claire turned to Shane. "Your last name. What's your last name?" Shane asked why, but Claire didn't tell him. "Just give it to me."

"Collins," he breathed, ducking and pushing Claire from Brandon's grip. Stumbling, Claire caught herself and turned to the door.

She inhaled a deep breath, keeping her voice level and clear, not loud and distorted like Shane's was. "Mr. and Mrs. Collins, could you please let is in? Please, we need shelter at this moment."

The door opened a crack, but it was enough to reveal the face of a girl about Claire's age. She took one look at Shane and opened the door the full way. "Get in," she demanded, pulling them both in.

Before the door was closed, Shane had engulfed the girl in a hug. "Lys," he whispered, holding her tightly. He pulled away and ran fingers over her skin. "What has he done to you?" Shane whispered, petting the girl's face. "I'm so sorry I left," he cried.

The brown haired girl nodded, standing ramrod as Shane looked at the bruises and cuts on her small, petite body. "Shane. You need to go. It isn't good for you here. Please, just leave," Shane's sister begged. "I can't do it anymore." At that point the girl collapsed in Shane's arms, her body shaking with the vibrations the tears brought on.

"Did you get punished for my going?" Shane asked quietly. The girl very subtly nodded. "You're coming with me," Shane told his sister, towing her toward the door.

Shane opened the door and Claire started to follow, but a hand clasped her wrist and pulled her into the owner's body. The body in her around and pushed her up against a wall, the man's arm pinned over her throat.

"Hey, son, you missin' something?" the man's deep voice asked. Claire couldn't help but gawk at the older man pinning her to the wall. There was a scar going from the corner of his right eye to his mouth, intimidating Claire as he held her small body in place.

Shane turned around, his eyes widening at the scene playing out in front of him. "Let her go," Shane growled, holding Alyssa tightly. "Dad, don't do this. You don't even know her. Just let her go and we'll be on our way."

"So that's it?" Mr. Collins asked. "You came and got your sister, so now you're going?"

"That was the plan, yes," Shane answered, competing in the Mexican standoff between father and son. "Let the girl go," Shane ordered again.

Mr. Collins was intimidating, now that Claire focused on him. His hair was wild and curly and going grey, his chin containing a scruffy beard. His frame was burly, strong built just like his son's. The term "like father, like son" kept playing out in Claire's mind, no matter how hard she tried to push it back.

Her brown eyes searched the room and found Shane's brown orbs that were trained on her face, his expression making Claire confused. "Leave Alyssa here and no harm will come to the brunette," Shane's dad spoke. "Make the right decision."

Right now, the blockage at her throat was comfortable, air getting in and out properly, but Claire knew that could change any second. "You can't be so foolish as to make me choose between my sister and a stranger. I know what you do to Lyssa, but what would you do to a complete stranger? A sixteen year old girl, may I add."

The bearded man smiled, a torturous turn if his lips. The arm pressed in, choking off Claire's breathing resource. Shane watched and Claire tried her hardest to show no weakness, to not let Shane give in to his ass of a father.

"I may not be able to kill her from lack of oxygen, but when she comes back from her unconscious state, I can throw her to the vampires."

Shane grimaced, a twist of his lips. "You do need a punching bag, don't you? Mum not good enough anymore? Lemme guess: You miss me and how I would fight you. Too bad the feelings not mutual."

Mr. Collins snarled and dug his arm in further. This time Claire couldn't help but gasp to try and get air in through the tight gap.

Shane looked worried. That was the expression Claire saw before. He was worried about her. Alyssa moved out of Shane's grip to her father before Shane could protest. "Don't worry dad, I'm going to stay," she uttered quietly.

Their father let Claire go, her limp body sliding down the wall. Staying still, Claire waited for feeling to return to her body, Mr. Collins nearly robbing her of air. "Lys, what are you doing?" Shane hissed.

"You know he wouldn't stop. He'd follow us everywhere, waiting out his chance to attack. Take the girl home, don't risk her life for me. Shane, you know I'm right. He'd kill to get his own way."

Shane walked forwards and wrapped his arms around his younger sister, pulling her in tight. "I love you Lys," he whispered, not as quietly as he had most likely hoped for.

"Love you too Shane," Alyssa murmured.

Releasing his sister, Shane walked over and helped Claire up. "I'll see you later," he promised the brown haired girl. "I'll come everyday if I have to. I'll get you out of this shit hole Lys."

The girl offered him a weak smile, her father entangling his hand in her hair. He threw her to the her knees on the ground and backhanded her, forcing her to sprawl on the floorboards.

Shane leant Claire up against the wall and walked to Alyssa, but she told him to stop. "Just go. It's likely that he'll stop if you're not here. He's trying to piss you of, Shane."

Giving in and breathing sharply, Shane twined his arm around Claire's waist as she rested her arm over his shoulders. She was being half carried out, but it probably sped things up when they went for their short travel to the car.

Throwing her in and jumping in himself, the buff guy next to her started the car and turned around, heading in the opposite direction of the university. "W-where are you going?" Claire asked, her voice raspy and quiet.

"It's too late to go back to the campus. Eve's right, you can stay at the glass House tonight." If Claire expected him to sound disgusted about the words coming out of his mouth, then she would have been let down. He didn't sound disgusted, not even angry, but he didn't sound happy either.

He sounded defeated and Claire knew exactly why. He hadn't planned on taking her back to campus, he had used her as an excuse to leave the house. His real plan was to go to his parents' house, grab his sister and take all three of them back to the house.

What a fail that had been. Blinking away blurriness, Claire struggled to keep her eyes open. She yawned and she felt her lids slip closed, not even bothering to try and keep them open. There had been enough defeat for the one night.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own the Morganville Vampires series. All credits go to Rachel Caine who wrote these awesome books!

* * *

Waking up, Claire saw that she was lying in a big double bed. The room was dim, which meant that it was only just reaching dawn. She was still in her shorts and top, a big, heavy, warm blanket covering her body.

Getting to her feet, Claire stumbled out, the door opening with a soft click. She was on her way when there was a voice spoken behind her. "You forgot something," it called to her.

Claire turned to see Michael standing near her door. "What?" she asked, her voice quiet. Michael walked into the room and back to her with shoes in his hands. "Oh, thanks," she muttered. "Um, I should probably be going," she murmured.

A hand was placed on her shoulder, pulling her to a stop. "At least stay for a couple more hours. I really don't want you to get sucked dry by a vampire."

"Wouldn't they be asleep?" she stupidly asked.

A grin played on the cute guy's face, a smirk finally revealing itself. "It's still dark out," he told her, towing her down the stairs. "You ain't leavin' the house anytime soon."

Claire whined, hooking her fingers in the heel of her sneakers. "Then what do I do?"

"Sleep?" Michael offered, pointing upstairs. "Or we could watch a movie?" he shrugged.

Claire sat down on the nearest couch, Michael standing at the bottom of the steps. "I'm awake, I can't go to sleep now. May as well watch a movie."

Michael nodded and walked through the kitchen door. Looking at the rows of DVDs on the racks, Claire picked one that looked interesting. Michael returned and saw the disc Claire was holding. "Good choice," he said, grabbing the case. "Going back to the classics; I like it."

Claire shrugged, flopping back onto the lounge. "I haven't seen this in ages. I forget what happens."

"Fair enough," he stated, popping the disc in. As the television turned on, the volume was up full blast, the noise bouncing through the house. "Shit," he mumbled, turning it down. "Shane was definitely the last one to have had the TV."

Michael settled down in the armchair, throwing a throw rug to Claire. She muttered her thank you and spread it over herself.

It was silent while they watched Bambi, but then Claire had to ask the question on her mind. "Why were you up?" she asked Michael. "I mean, everyone was asleep, but you were up."

"I was on my out," the blonde angel admitted. "Shane told me about what happened last night." Involuntarily, Claire's hand flew up to her neck. "Yeah, even that part. I'll admit, Eve wasn't really happy with what Shane had allowed to happen to you."

"It wasn't his fault," she said, sticking up for Shane. "He hadn't planned for that to happen. Not his father anyway." Another question then popped into Claire's head. "What did Shane mean when he said that his father wasn't the only abusive one? I know his father is abusive, but who else is?"

Michael turned to her, his blue orbs locking on her brown ones. "Eve's dad used to abuse her and her brother. The police were called and the two of them had to go go foster homes. Eve escaped, she was just old enough to take care of herself, but Jason had to go."

"Where's her brother now?" Claire asked in suspicion. "Is he back at home?"

"Last I heard Jason was in custody. I don't know where he is, or care about what's happened to him. As long as that fuck never comes here, I'll be happy."

There was more questions Claire wanted to ask, but Michael's tone had been dismissive enough to make her stop. They carried on watching the show, Claire's eyes trained on the electrical box in front of her.

At the end of the movie, the sun was up high enough that Claire checked her phone. "Crap," she yelped, jumping up. "I'm gonna be late."

"What time do you start?" Michael asked.

"At seven," she sighed. "So I have ten minutes."

She got up and Michael followed. "That's more than enough time," he mentioned, grabbing for the keys. He opened the door and they walked to the car, Michael still cautious of wondering vampires.

Claire got to school with five minutes to spare, enough time to change her clothes and head to the first of her classes. "Thank you," she gasped, jumping out of the car. "I owe you."

"Don't mention it," smiled Michael, his teeth pearly white. He drove off and Claire found herself staring after him before she ran into campus up to her dorm room. There wasn't enough time to shower, so Claire just covered herself in deodorant and chucked on jeans, a tank top and sweater.

Running to her class, Claire arrived just in time. People were staring at her, but she didn't care. Claire thought they were staring at her, but they were staring at the group of three which stood behind her.

"I'm sorry kid, but I think preschool's the other way," she heard someone snarl into her ear. Claire turned around and saw the girl from yesterday. "No way," she laughed, a devious smile slipping onto her perfect face. "I know you. You're the one who wet me."

Claire gulped, her legs walking backwards. She crashed into a wall, the hard surface hitting her back. Monica kept her prowl forwards, but she couldn't do anything as the teacher arrived. The class moved in, and Monica sneered at her before walking in.

Letting out a breath that was starting to burn at her lungs, Claire headed in, sitting at the front as she tried to keep her distance from the bitch of Morganville. Her class went slower than usual, and Claire found herself tired.

As her eyes slipped closed, someone nudged her. The girl sitting next to her had elbowed Claire, forcing her to stay awake and alert, listening to what the wise old teacher had to tell them.

The end of class gratefully arrived, and Claire let her breath out as she headed to her next horrendous class. That one went faster, so that meant Claire could escape from the lectures and finally eat something.

Piling food onto her tray, Claire got a mug of coffee and sat at a table, the only vacant seat. She was scrolling through her emails when one popped up. _Wow, you are beautiful. I didn't believe them when they said that you were good looking, but now I can see they weren't bluffing._

Claire felt her cheeks redden, her eyes scanning around for people who were looking at her and laughing. No one was, so Claire gave in and typed back. _Who are you? How did you get my email address? _she typed.

_Don't worry your pretty little head, you'll find out soon enough. Until then, stay perfect._

Not worrying about writing back, Claire closed her laptop and pushed it into her bag, forcing the mail to leave her mind. It wouldn't go, so Claire drunk the rest of her caffeine boost and packed up, heading up to her room.

Once in the comfort of her dorm room, Claire set an alarm and collapsed on the bed, her eyes sliding closed and her mind blocking everything out.

There was a knocking at her door, and Claire opened it to find flowers sitting by themselves. There was a note, but it only said _for you, beautiful. Xx._

Claire took them into the room, but nothing gave away who it could be. Being new to town had its up and downsides. Usually the upside was that no one knew you, but the downside was you didn't know anyone.

Confused on what to do, Claire jumped as her alarm went off, a jingle burrowing into her head. "It's just a prank," she told herself, but then her phone buzzed. "Don't go cheating on me, that won't end well. I'll be watching you, might even visit you. Promise you won't go out tonight," she read to herself.

Throwing her phone down, Claire packed her bag and headed out, her next class close to starting. The last of her classes flew by, and Claire left the grounds, not sure of where she was going.

The sun was still up, so Claire knew she had a couple of hours before the bloodsuckers came out to party. She reached the Glass house and knocked on the door, the slab opening to revel Shane.

"Can I come in?" she asked, her voice pleading. He nodded and widened it to her, Claire walking through. It didn't look like Eve and Michael were home, but that didn't exactly matter to Claire, she just needed to be with someone at the moment.

"What's bothering you?" Shane asked, his voice tinged with worry. Claire faced him and took in his appearance, her eyes widening at his bare chest. "Right, sorry," he murmured, walking into the lounge room and throwing a shirt on.

Claire looked down, her shoes suddenly interesting. "I-I didn't know who else to go to," she admitted. "You three are the only people I know."

"Still don't get what you're talking about," Shane said, tilting her head up to his eyes. "Why'd you come here? Obviously there's a reason."

Claire pulled her phone out and scrolled to the texts, showing Shane. "There's more on my computer," she said when he finished. Shane nodded, telling Claire to show him. She did, and he didn't look any less confused.

"Okay, so that still doesn't explain why you came here."

"I don't know who this person is. I don't feel safe at the dorms, and this was the only place I can think of."

Shane sighed in realisation. "You want to stay here with us so then no one can get you," he guessed. Claire nodded and asked if that was alright. "That's fine. I mean, you'll still have to ask Michael when he gets home from work, but stay until then."

Claire nodded and put her bag down, sitting next to Shane as he played his X box. Hours ticked by and Eve had arrived home, her expression thrilled as she saw Claire and found out she was staying. But her expression turned into one of worry when she was told why.

The three of them sat down and talked, Michael finally arriving home. "Okay, I hope dinner's ready. I am so hungry I could eat a horse." He froze upon seeing Claire and his brow lowered. He listened intently as he was also told what happened, and when Claire asked if she could stay, his answer was, "Of course. You're welcome here whenever you want."

Claire thanked him and gave him an awkward hug. He hugged her back and let her go, his blue eyes boring into hers. Shane scoffed and Michael turned to him, his gaze sharp. Eve laughed and guided Claire upstairs. She showed her around and gave Claire clothes to sleep in while she waited patiently for Claire to shower.

Shane ended up making chilli for dinner, no one else full of enough energy after their long days at work. Well, Eve and Michael at work, Claire at school. After dinner, Claire offered to do the dishes, saying it was the least she could do. Shane was in there with her, but Claire told him not to worry about helping, so he just told her where the dishes went.

The four of them sat down and watched TV, and Claire couldn't help but wonder if this is what it would've been like if she had siblings. The three other people argued about nothing, and even that made Claire smile, hoping that she would someday become as close as they seemed to be.

* * *

Review :)


	4. Chapter 4

Please forgive me for the length of time it has taken me to upload this chapter, I've been preoccupied with it her things. I've tried to make it long, so I hope you enjoy.

* * *

As morning came round, Claire found herself content. Her sleep had been peaceful, the mattress firm but soft against her back. As she got up, she felt the need to use the bathroom.

Making her way down the hall, Claire found the washroom and walked in, forgetting to knock. Her eyes were drooping, half closed, and she hooked her fingers into the waistband of her pants when there was a shriek.

"Claire, dude, the bathroom's taken. Have you heard of knocking?" Looking around, Claire saw Eve standing at the mirror, eyeliner in her hand. She had an amused grin on her face, and it only seemed to grow when Claire let her own shriek escape.

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry," she said, backing out. "I guess I'm use to walking into places without knocking."

Eve stood smiling, her lips only going back to normal when she said, "Don't worry, I've done it before. Walked in on Shane getting dressed after a shower." She did a dramatic shiver, adding, "Not a pretty sight. I mean, he walks around topless all the time, but never naked. I think I had nightmares two weeks straight."

Claire smiled back, feeling her face flush. "Again, I'm sorry," she said, turning to leave. Before she reached the door, Eve called out to her.

"I can go out while you use the toilet. A girl's gotta pee when a girl's gotta pee right?"

Eve left and Claire did her business, no matter how rushed she was. Guilt played through, though she wasn't certain why. She left, thanking Eve along with it. Claire got changed and ran downstairs, crashing into Shane quite literally on the way.

Looking up, she saw him staring down at her, his expression plain. She apologised and kept walking, but a hand gripped her wrist. "Do you want anything for breakfast?" he asked her.

"Umm…" she started, her gaze slipping up to his naked chest. You, she thought, immediately scolding herself. "Just coffee, thanks." Shane nodded, ushering her into the kitchen.

He got two mugs down, pouring coffee into the both of them. "Milk's in the fridge and sugar in the cupboard."

Claire let her legs carry her to the fridge, getting out the creamy substance. Next stop was the cupboard, the sweet sugar in a container labelled "sugar." She reached for it, but it was up too high. She jumped, still stretching for the sweet grains. Shane was watching her, his expression both amused and annoyed.

Fighting to choose which emotion to follow, it looked like the brown haired guy chose annoyance as he walked over to help Claire get the missing ingredient. "Thank you," she mumbled, taking the sugar.

She fixed her coffee, sipping on the bitter drink. Sitting at the table, Claire watched as Shane cautiously sat down. "How's your throat?" he asked unexpected.

"It's good," she answered, taking another gulp. Shane nodded, lost for words. It got to an awkward amount of silence, so Claire asked, "What do you do for a living?" Suddenly there was a roar of laughter.

"Shane working? Please, change the subject. Here, I'll answer for you: Shane doesn't do anything that starts with w and ends with ork." Eve walked into the kitchen, and not long after Michael followed.

Shane opened his mouth to say something, but Michael interrupted. "You can get back to your bickering after I'm done talking," he mentioned, placing himself into the chair opposite Claire. "There's a meeting in town square at four this afternoon. Everyone has to attend, even you Claire," he added, his head turning to face her.

Eve looked at Michael, her face holding a look of fear. "Why? Do you know what this is about?" she asked him.

Blonde hair flicked around when Michael shook his head. "I wish I did, but I can't say I do. All I know is that the Founder wants us all there. University students included."

Shane frowned, his brow digging in deep to his eyebrows. "So obviously there's nothing good going on?" he guessed.

"Pretty much," Michael nodded. "I have to get to work, so just be there okay. Actually, meet at the house. Claire, you come here as well."

"Okay," she answered, suddenly feeling very young.

Eve laughed, Shane following in suit. After trying not to give in, Michael laughed too. Claire was confused, and she voiced that confusion. "We're not laughing at you, just thought I should add that. No, we're laughing at how young you sounded. You reminded me of a little kid that asked for ice cream and got refused," Eve laughed.

Claire blushed, imagining how stupid she had sounded. "Aw, guys, stop laughing," Michael gushed. He stood up and hugged Claire, his arms wrapping round her neck from behind. "It's okay," he added in a fake girlish tone. "Don't be embarrassed."

Shane stopped laughing abruptly, Claire cracking up because of Michael's tone. "Didn't you have to get to work, Michael?" Shane asked.

Taking his hands from Claire's body, Michael checked the time on the clock hanging in the kitchen. "Yeah, I do. I'll catch you this arvo," he yelled back as he ran out the door.

Eve turned to Shane, her hand grabbing at his top. "I need to talk to you," she said in an amused voice. Giving in, Shane followed after, Claire sitting at the table, her now empty cup in front of her.

As time dragged on, Claire decided to go up and get changed. She chucked her cup in the sink, exiting from the kitchen. Shane and Eve closed their mouths, their conversation stopping. She made her way up the stairs, walking into the spare room.

Claire reached for her backpack, scooping out the jeans and top she had brought with her. She got changed quickly and her shoes were being tied when a knock at the door sounded. "Come in," she called out, sitting up straight.

Eve entered, her face tinged with red, but her eyes sparkled. "I have something for you to consider," she said, biting straight into the issue. "How would you like to move in here?"

Claire felt her eyes widen in surprise. "Wow, I was not expecting that. Have you asked Michael?"

"He was the one who suggested it," Eve admitted. "Although Shane and I agreed," she quickly added. "Please, we'd love it if you moved in."

Blinking, Claire was surprised to see Shane standing out in the hall. His eyes were glued to Claire's face, his expression holding hope. "Can I think about it?" Claire asked on hope.

"Of course you can. We didn't expect an answer right away. God, you don't even know us." Claire agreed to that, grabbing her bag.

"I'll think about it, I promise. I have to get to school, but I will try to make my mind up as soon as possible." Eve nodded, moving as Claire left.

Walking to school wasn't hard, it was barely two blocks away, three at the most. Usually Claire was looking forward to going to school, but when she arrived, she silently cursed at her timing. It was ten in the morning, sunbathers bound to be out.

Monica and her crew were sitting on nearby tables, their tinny clothes allowing them to sink up the sun. Monica was laughing and flirting, her usual routine, but then her covered gaze turned to Claire.

She smiled, a dangerous curl, and got up from the seat. Claire tried to walk faster, but her bag was grabbed and she was forced to a stop. "Where you going little girl?" Monica's voice growled into her ear.

"Monica, I say we spray her with a hose. Maybe then she'll learn her lesson," someone cooed.

"Or," Monica carried on, annoyed. "We could hit her when she least expects it. Do anything we want."

Claire gulped, pain dancing in her throat for no reason. "My little sister said that Alyssa told her that Claire and Shane payed a visit to the Collin house. Frank wasn't real happy," one of the jocks stated.

"Is that right? Are you and Shane dating now? I always picked you for someone who'd shag up with Jason Rosser. If you were prettier you might be able to go for Michael, but Shane's a bit too good for you. And by a bit, I mean a lot."

Claire sighed, taking the bullshit that the popular people threw at her. "Look. I have to get to class, so can you please let me go." It wasn't a question, more like an order.

Monica seemed surprised much to Claire's amusement. But that shock only lasted for a split second. "Oh, so now you think you can talk to me that way? Sorry hun, but that isn't going to happen. You see, if you were as smart as they say you are, you wouldn't have tipped that water on me. That dress was very expensive," she added with a sneer.

"I didn't exactly plan for you to run into me. It was your fault, not mine." Claire knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she was sick of doing that.

Monica's hand reared back and she slapped Claire. The slap was a hard one, strong enough to draw blood from the corner of Claire's lip. Looking at the blonde haired girl, Claire wasn't sure if she should fight back or head to class.

Her instincts screamed at her to go. Run. But Claire wasn't going to give in that easily. Bullies like Monica Morrell needed to be taught that not everyone is there to be pushed around.

Raising a hand, Claire swiped at the blood that was trickling down the corner of her mouth. "Is that the best you have?" she mocked Monica.

As Monica smiled, Claire knew to duck. As she fell to the ground, Monica tumbled to the floor, tripping over Claire's crouched body.

Monica climbed to her knees, embarrassment flushing her face. She fixed her yellow sundress and stretched to her full height. Even as Claire scurried to stand, Monica still loomed over her, the heels not helping on her cause.

The mayor's daughter pushed Claire back to the ground, laughing as she hit her shoulders and landed on her elbows to protect her skull. "Never underestimate me," the blonde warned, sauntering back to the table.

Getting up, Claire winced at the ache that travelled up her elbows to the rest of her body. She rubbed her elbows and saw something out if the corner of her eye. Turning, Claire saw Alyssa.

"Alyssa!" she screamed out, running towards the other girl. Shane's sister froze and when she saw who was calling for her, her eyes widened.

"I-I can't talk to you," she sputtered, rushing off. Claire stood in the same spot until the bell went, and she knew that she should get to class before it was too late.

The end of the day came fast, and so had Claire's decision about whether or not to move into the Glass house. She hurried back to the house in order to get ready, but she was stopped halfway there.

"Hey beautiful, where you goin'" someone called out to her. Claire looked back and saw a guy following her. He wasn't from the University, she knew that, but she had never seen him before.

She turned to face him and took a step back. "Can I help you?" she bit straight into the issue. "I don't even think I know you."

"Never mind about who I am, that's what most people do."

The guy's voice didn't have any distinct feature, it was just like a normal voice. No huskiness, no deepness, no high pitch, just…average. "Yeah, well, I have to go," Claire started, taking a step back. In an instant the guy had pounced at her, holding her body against the wall.

Claire immediately took in features so that she could send them to the police if anything bad happened. His hair was light brown and dead straight, chopped close to his head. His eyes were a faded blue; his physique was slim with no muscles and his clothes were normal—jeans with a grey shirt.

Before Claire could scream out for help a sharp pain had formed in her abdomen. The pain was unbearable, a sting in her stomach. The man let Claire go and she pitched forward, hands on her hurting tummy.

It was getting dark, the sun going down. From what Claire could tell, it was way past four, so that meant not only was she late for meeting at the Glass house, but she was late for the town meeting.

Just as her voice ached from screaming and yelling, Claire noticed the man was gone and someone else was walking towards her. They changed courses and walked to her, much to Claire's glee.

"What happened?" the new person asked. It was a man. A beautiful man. He had curly black hair that reached his shoulders and he was strong built. His skin was too pale, so no doubt he was a vampire, but at that point, Claire did not care one bit.

"I-I'm not sure," Claire admitted, clutching her stomach. "I was attacked."

The black haired vampire scooped Claire up in bridal style and carried her to a nearby shop. Common Grounds, Claire soon realised it was. The coffee shop was deserted, no one lining up or serving. Somehow it still managed to smell like coffee beans and burnt cream.

"What's your name?" he asked her, grabbing towels and pushing them to her stomach. He ordered her to hold them in place while he went and got tape.

Claire couldn't stop looking at him. He really was pretty. He returned with the tape, and Claire felt herself blush when he smiled, obviously knowing where her eyes had been trained.

The vampire taped the towels to Claire's stomach, turning the white red. "So, am I going to get your name?" he asked again.

"C-Claire," she stuttered.

The black haired man smiled. "Well, C-Claire, do you plan on telling me what happened?" His tone was mocking, and Claire felt her eyes narrowing.

"First off, it's Claire, second, I'm not sure what happened. I was attacked, and then he ran and you arrived."

The vampire grabbed the hem of Claire's shirt and tugged it up to her bra line, holding it there with one finger. Her thoughts finally came together and she batted his hands away.

"You have no right to do that. I didn't even know you."

"Myrnin. My name's Myrnin." He grabbed her top again, but yanked it off and over her head before she could protest. Claire automatically felt violated.

"Excuse me Mister, but just because I know your name doesn't mean you can go around undressing me!" Claire shouted at Myrnin. Myrnin threw her shirt off to the side and Claire watched it flutter to the ground on the opposite side of the room.

Myrnin was cute, Claire knew that, but she wasn't, nor would she ever be, ready to get raped by a vampire. "I'm not going to rape you," Myrnin spat. He truthfully looked hurt by Claire's thoughts.

"What was I s'posed to think? You took my freaking shirt off!"

"Because I'm trying to help you. Know, if you could trust me, I'd like to keep helping you." Claire didn't argue, so Myrnin carried on.

Pushing the towel to Claire's stomach, Myrnin taped it still. He taped more, but was always careful about how tight he made it. He left Claire to pick up her shirt, and that's all it took for Claire to see her attacker.

He was outside the window, watching. His gaze slipped to her bra, and she gasped and let her hands fly up to cover it. Suddenly the door was pushed open, and a stake was pushed into Myrinin's chest. He gasped for air, grabbing the table to keep himself up, but he fell to the ground.

The guy from earlier grabbed Claire, binding her wrists and ankles together. He also put tape on her mouth, obviously finding it handy. Throwing Claire's body over his shoulder, the man carried her to a car parked nearby.

Putting her in the boot of the car, the vehicle was started up almost straight after. Time didn't exist to Claire at this moment, she was too busy trying to refrain from thrashing around.

When the car pulled to a stop, Claire heard the soft _click_ of the boot being opened. She peeled her eyes open, but it proved hard since they were glued closed with tears.

Her captivator picked her up again, carrying her into a house across the road. He opened the door and took her in, placing her on a bed that was surprisingly comfy. Even though the doors were locked and no one could hear or see what was going on in the house, the man still wouldn't untie her bonds or take the tape from her mouth.

"I've gotta go out for a couple minutes and you can't come, so you'll be stuck here. Don't try to escape or I swear I will kill you and everyone you love." He left before Claire could even try to fight back, slamming and looking the door behind him.

Struggling to get to a seating position, Claire settled for half seating half laying on the bed. She stared at the exit, trying to think of a way to get out. Her brain couldn't function properly, wondering back to if Myrnin was alright.

The vampire had done nothing but help her, and now he could be dead because of her. Because this random guy wouldn't leave her alone. Her brain was working, but in all the wrong ways. Asking all the right questions, but at the wrong time.

As she asked herself one of the questions, her phone started ringing, sending a chirpy noise through a rather quiet and deserted area.

She finally reached it in her pocket, pressing the answer button and playing it on the pillow. She slid down, her ear resting on the phone. "Hello?" she mumbled through the tape.

"Claire? Claire, is that you?" Shane. How had he got her number? It didn't matter now, all that mattered was her getting through to him.

"Shane," she murmured, her voice twisted.

Shane went silent, obviously confused at why she wasn't answering. "Claire?" he whispered, trying to get an answer.

Instead of taking -because that wasn't working- Claire decided to scream into the phone. Shane was speaking, but the phone had slid down out of Claire's reach forcing her to move down.

Moving down didn't help, all it did was make Claire roll off the bed. She fell flat onto her stomach, the wind being knocked out. She tried to pull heel self along, but then the front door opened, revealing her taker.

"Claire, Claire, Claire," he repeated, walking into the room. He bunched her hair up into his fist, lifting her up to her feet. Claire groaned in pain, remembering that Shane was still on the phone that was buried somewhere in the covers of the bed.

Throwing her onto the bed, the guy slapped her cheek, forcing her to lie down. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you later." Closing the door, the room was thrown in darkness, leaving Claire to lie awake with her thoughts still roaming her head.

Then there was a soft calling of her name. Sauk ting into the dark, Claire found her phone buried in her covers. She manoeuvred herself around, her head at the foot of the bed, her feet at the headboard.

"Claire! I'm going, but don't think I've given up on you. Michael, Eve and I are going searching for you first thing in the morning. I promise. Take care, wherever you are." The dial tone rang out and Claire pressed the hangup button with her nose, moving the phone into her pocket.

Now, Claire was definitely alone, no one even on the other end of her cell. She closed her eyes, trying to make her thoughts shut up.


	5. Chapter 5

The light shone in and Claire tried to cover her eyes, only to be stopped short by a searing pain in her wrists. She looked down at her hands and remembered what was going on. "Ugh," she groaned, rolling over and crashing to the ground.

The door got thrown open and the man appeared in the doorway. He looked at her and let out a huff. Walking over, he lifted her to her feet and threw her back onto the bed. "Just stay still," he ordered.

Claire did what she was told, her heart beating up into her throat. Her captivator looked like her falling had roused him, forcing him to wake from his sleep. From what Claire could see of him, dark rings circled under his blue eyes, eyes that pierced Claire. His brown hair was ruffled, spikes springing up.

The man yawned, turned and walked out. Just as Claire thought she was safe, he returned. "What do you want?" she begged him. "I don't even know you."

He reached her, staring at the chest that was still bare apart from her brassiere. "I don't think you'd understand anyway," he said ripping the tape from her body. Claire screamed, the pain coursing through her body. Brown haired guy smiled, taking the towels and throwing them to the ground. He bandaged her stomach.

"You stabbed me, didn't you?" Claire asked, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

The man smiled a bright million dollar smile and nodded. "I had to do something. You would have gotten away if I didn't injure you some way. So, yeah, I stabbed you."

Was it then that Claire realised he had answered a question she had asked. The question that had come from her mouth. "The tape's off my mouth," she stated, the statement more of a question.

"You sounded as though you were having trouble breathing when you were asleep, I had to take it off. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be happy if you died."

Claire was confused. What was all this talk of 'him'? Was there another in the house? "Who wouldn't be happy?"

Blue eyes turned to her and Claire felt them drilling into her soul. "Never ask that question again," he warned. She was about to ask why, but a banging on the front door sounded through. "Stay here," he said, grabbing a baseball bat from the corner of the room. Claire was suddenly scolding herself for not noticing. But, to be fair, she wouldn't have been able to grab or use it anyway.

Talking was sounding through the small house, and Claire realised it was Shane at the front door. She bit her lip, cussing and thinking of what to do. If she screamed out, then the guy could take a swing at Shane, maybe taking him down. Then there was the possibility that maybe Shane mightn't hear her.

Biting the bullet, Claire did the only possible thing to do. "Shane," she screamed, "it's Claire." It was silent, no more talking, and Claire went on. "He has a bat, be careful." Suddenly a broad figure appeared in the doorway.

"'He has a bat, be careful'?" Shane questioned. "A bat wouldn't hurt me, honey." Claire glared at him, but didn't waste any time.

"What about the man?" Claire asked.

Shane walked into the room, stopping at the side of the bed. "Turns out you should have warned him about the bat. He's lying on the floor unconscious at the moment."

Claire sighed in relief, letting her head drop back on the bed. Her hands were still bound together, as were her ankles.

"Claire, what did he do?" Shane asked quietly and carefully.

"Why?" she asked. Talking hurt and her head was spinning, threatening to throw her into the world of no conscious.

He gestured to her lack of shirt and she gasped, rolling over to cover herself. Laying on her tummy hurt, and she felt blood seep through the bandaging.

"I'm hurting," she whinged to Shane. He grabbed her and pulled her to a seating position.

"Shit," he swore, pulling out a phone. "Imma call Eve and Michael, be back soon. Don't move, don't lie down. Stay seating, I'll be two seconds." He left and Claire looked down. She had been right, she was bleeding again. Shane returned, and he scooped her up. "We have to go, I have no idea how long until the guy'll come back round."

As they left the house, Eve's car came hurtling around the corner. She pulled up, jumped out and threw herself at the pair of them. "Claire," she squealed, her voice full of concern.

"Eve, we have to go," Shane ordered, walking to the car. Shane jumped in the back, cradling Claire close to his body.

"It's cold," Claire murmured, digging in deeper to Shane's body. "And I'm tired." Shane pulled Claire in closer, using his own heat to jump-start her own. Claire allowed herself to close her eyes, resting.

No matter how hard she tried to sleep, the only thing she could think of was that Shane smelt good. It wasn't a cheap, soap smell, it was a manly smell. A smell produced by sweat and cheap soap. His chest was hard under her cheek, but it was still comfortable.

Eve turned in somewhere, and Claire felt herself being lifted. Her eyes peeled open and she saw that they were at the hospital. "Why are we here?" Claire muttered, her speech slowing and her head pounding.

No one answered and they kept walking, Claire being carried by Shane. Michael hurried on ahead, and when they reached him, he was asking for a room. For Claire. "She's been stabbed," he explained, pointing to her middle. "She needs surgery."

Claire opened her mouth to say she was fine, but a metallic taste swam between her lips instead. Raising her hand from Shane's neck, Claire put it to her mouth and saw she was bleeding. Not wanting anyone to see, she buried her head into Shane's chest.

But he tilted her head up, giving her a once over. "Mikey, not to worry you, but there's blood coming from her mouth," Shane said, wiping it away with his thumb. She felt the liquid trickle down from the corners of her mouth but Shane wiped it away before she could.

The nurse took one look at Claire and ordered someone to take her into operation. Doctors came rushing out, and someone took her from Shane, leaving her feeling bare without the warmth on her own chest.

Claire tried to keep her eyes open, but she gave in, her eyelids sliding closed. There was a faint pinch in her wrist, and she let the darkness take her in.

Waking up, Claire looked around the room she was in. It was a faded blue, kind of like the man's eyes that had looked into hers while he had jabbed her in the gut with his weapon.

She turned her head and saw Shane sitting in the hospital chair next to her bed. He was asleep, his big body placed uncomfortably in the plastic object.

Claire watched Shane twist and turn, his face contorting in pain. Thinking it was probably better to wake him, Claire called out to him. He didn't budge, so she tried again. "Shane," she tried. "Shane, wake up." Again, he didn't work.

"Claire," someone whispered. Looking around, Claire saw a flash of black hair. Suddenly, Myrnin was in her hospital room. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice worrisome.

She was, but she wasn't sure her mental health was. He was supposed to be dead. D-E-A-D. How come the vampire was standing at the edge of her bed?

"The stake wasn't in my chest long enough," he unexpectedly spoke. Had she spoken aloud? She didn't think she had. "I can read minds," he stated.

Of course he could. Edward Cullen alert!

"No where near," he smiled, fangs showing. "I do not shine in the sun and I feed on human blood, not animal."

Claire honestly didn't expect him to know about Twilight. He didn't seem the type of, um, vampire to watch other "vampires."

There was a groan and creak beside her, and Claire knew Shane was awake. "Hey," he yawned, his fingers automatically running through his mess of tangled hair.

"Hey yourself," Claire answered back. He smiled at her, her insides turning to mush. His expression changed suddenly and he leapt to his feet, glaring.

Shane turned his glare to Myrnin who laughed, skipping out of the room. Shane then turned to Claire. "Are you okay? Did he bite you?" Claire shook her head, but Shane didn't look convinced. Grabbing Claire's chin, he turned her head from side to side, his eyes skimming over her skin.

"Shane, I'm fine," Claire giggled. Shane's hand dropped, but his eyes remained glued to her. She squirmed, his gaze pinning her in place. He leaned forward, his nose nearly touching hers when there was a tap on the door.

He pulled back, his eyes turning to the door. "Sorry, Eve wanted to come check on Claire." Michael walked in, Eve pushing past him.

"Claire!" the girl shrieked. Eve threw herself at Claire, her arms wrapping around Claire's neck on an embrace. "I didn't want to leave, but Michael made me. Shane stayed though," she quickly added. "He stayed the whole night."

Claire turned to Shane who looked a cross between annoyance and embarrassment. "All night?" Claire gasped in surprise. "Do you know how uncomfortable those seats are."

"Sadly, I do," he confessed, rubbing his lower back. "How do you know?"

And that's when Claire knew she would have to explain it all. "I spent a lot of time visiting my older sister in the hospital. That's part of the reason I moved here. I needed a new start."

"How is your sister?" Shane asked, his eyes meeting Claire's.

FLASHBACK

"Claire, come on, we're gonna be late," Mary screamed from the front of the house.

Claire rushed, her shoes in her hand. "I'm coming," she yelled back, zipping her bag as she ran. Stopping, Claire quickly pulled her shoes on, dancing around as she tried to tie them up. "I'm here," she panted, her energy already running low.

"And if there had been a murderer we would be dead," Mary rolled her eyes. "C'mon, you're lucky we haven't missed the bus." At that point, the large vehicle turned up. The sisters jumped on and sat at the front.

Well, Claire sat at the front, Mary sat at the back. To be honest, that's how it always went. Her popular sister would sit with her kind, Claire with her own. They were halfway to school when a scream sounded from the back.

At first, Claire ignored it as always, but the noise didn't stop. The bus driver, obviously alert to what was going on, pulled up to the curb and ran to the back. Everyone got up to see what was going on and Claire saw a wash of light brown hair.

Getting a sick feeling, Claire got up and walked down, seeing her sister on the floor of the bus. "Mary!" Claire shouted, falling on her knees in front of her older sister. "Mary, stay awake."

Holding her sister's head, Claire tilted Mary's head to the side, resting Mary's crown in her lap. Tears started running down Claire's face, but she knew she had to help her sister.

"Someone call the ambulance," Claire shouted. "Come on Mary, you're okay." She hugged her sister, making sure her head stayed on her lap.

"The paramedics are on their way now," someone said, but it only got through to Claire. The only thing she could think about was the fact that her sister was having a fit and her parents weren't here to help.

Sure her mum and dad had taught her what to do incase of emergencies, but she had trouble trying to remember. Her sister was shaking violently, and Claire heard the sirens in the background.

When the ambulance people finally arrived, they took both Claire and Mary to the hospital. Claire was left out in the waiting area by herself until both of her parents arrived.

Mary was made stable and her family could finally go in and see her. Claire cried when she did, she couldn't help it, and she would go in to see her after school everyday. But one day when she turned up to the hospital, her parents were there and looked as though they had been crying.

Her mum wouldn't speak to Claire, so Claire's dad explained that Mary was in a coma. When she had had an epileptic fit on the bus, Mary had banged her head multiple times, causing damage to her brain.

The damage was too intense, the brain damage unfixable. The doctors said they would try everything, but there was no promise she would live until next week. After finding out that information, Claire would skip school and spent hours sitting by her sister's side, the chair just big enough for her to curl up on.

She would get in trouble when her mother and father found out, but she repeated her action everyday. Although, when the time came to cut off the breathing source, Claire knew that she wouldn't be able to sit there anymore, reminiscing about the times spent with her older sister.

The funeral came a week later, and Claire got really moody after that. Before her sister's death, she had gotten invitations to join colleges, but she stayed just for her sister. And now that Mary was dead, Claire had decided to move.

She didn't want to move too far from her parents, so she moved to TPU, the closest college to where she mum and dad lived. Claire still spoke to them, but she tried to keep that part of her life away, trying to forget about her best friend, her sister.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sooo sorry for taking a long time to write. I've been caught up with other things and had trouble with my writing. I tried to make it long, so I hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

"Claire," Shane said. "Earth to Claire."

"Oh, what?" she stammered, her head still remembering what had happened.

Shane smiled, a soft smile, and stood up, stretching. When he lifted his hands over his head in a stretch, the hem of his shirt came up and showed a little of his toned stomach. Claire wouldn't stop staring, but she was forced to when she heard laughing.

Eve was looking at her, following where her eyes had been hooked. "I was asking whether your sister was alright," Shane said patiently.

"Oh, she's…fine," Claire lied between her teeth. "In fact, she came back home. She's there now, actually."

Claire felt tears threaten to spill, but she willed them to go. "Then why do you look upset?" Eve asked.

"I just miss her," Claire cried, the tears falling to thump onto her hospital bed.

Eve walked over and sat on the bed next to Claire, pushing hair behind her ear. "Then why don't you call her?"

Claire bursted at that point. Oh, how easy she wished that was.

"I-I can't," she said. Okay Claire, now you're gonna have to tell them the truth. "Sh-she's dead."

Everyone went quiet, staring at Claire. "Oh, hunny, it's okay. Why didn't you just say so at the beginning?" Eve wiped a fallen tear from Claire's cheek, wiping it on the bedspread.

"I thought it would have been easier to just lie about it," Claire admitted, looking down. Just then, a finger was being curled under her chin, her head being lifted. Michael was there, looking into her face.

"We can help you deal with the pain," he promised, pulling her in for a hug. A chair was scraped backwards and Shane was heading for the door, walking out as Claire looked to him.

Eve sighed, looking to the both of them. "I'll be back," she said, marching out.

Michael took her place, his finger moving and his hand gripping hers. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse.

Claire nodded and he looked away, composing himself.

"When you get out of this hospital, will you allow me to take you out on a date?"

That was not what Claire was expecting. Not at all. "Yeah," she said, wanting to see what it was like to go on a date with Michael Glass. "I get out tomorrow morning."

"Then I'll take you out tomorrow night," he answered with a smile. A heart wrenching, pulse-in-your-fingertips smile.

Finally, Claire thought. Anymore time in hospital and she would have gone crazy. Not only was she bored out of her mind, but she was strangely nervous about her date.

Boys like Michael didn't go for girls like Claire, they usually went for girls like Monica. But now that the day had finally come and Eve had come and picked her up from the hospital, she could now breathe.

Being in the Glass house brought on a weird sense of comfort, and then this brought Claire to the other thing was excited about getting out of hospital for. She had called a meeting, and when she said, "I've thought about the offer for staying here, and I would like to say I'd be more than happy to," everyone had looked happy.

Shane hadn't spoken to her much, and she wasn't sure why, but Eve told her not to worry, that he was a man that got his periods. Claire was confused, not sure whether Eve was serious or not, but then she figured out the older girl was just using an expression. She was saying that Shane was moody often and changed moods a lot.

Whilst getting ready for her date, Claire spotted her phone and noticed that her parents had called. Dialling them back, she waited for a voice to sound when all that came through was static. Redialling twice only gave her the same outcome.

Promising to call them back later, Claire fished out some clothes. Black skinny jeans and a white T-shirt with her black Volleys seemed the way to go. She was on her way to the bathroom when she noticed she still hadn't unpacked her bathroom accessories. Walking back, Claire saw the light coming from her cell.

Watch yourself, you could be next, said a message with a photo of a knife that had blood crusting at the tip. Could be next? Who was first? Claire thought. Flipping through her thoughts, Claire tried to imagine who could possibly be in harm's way.

She was so caught up with thoughts that she didn't hear anyone enter. Something touched her shoulder and she jumped, going for a fighting stance. "Woah, just me," Shane murmured, his hands up in front of him in surrender. Though Claire knew she couldn't beat him in a fight even if she could fight.

"You just startled me, that's all," Claire muttered, turning back to sit on her bed. "What do you want?"

"Sheesh, you could at least pretend to be happy that I'm here," said Shane.

"Oh, right. Shane, God, it's good to see you. You haven't spoken to me since I've been here for a reason unknown, but I'll drop everything to hear you out. I mean, you are more special than I am," Claire said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Shane laughed without humour and stared blankly at Claire. "Well, it's great to see you too, but I thought someone as smart as you would know how to dress yourself."

"I can. I learnt a long time ago, Mister."

"Really? Well, looks like you need to learn again. Your shirt's on backwards," he finally told her. Looking down, Claire realised it was.

Pushing him out and closing the door, Claire quickly fixed the material and invited him in again. "So, what are you doing here Shane?"

Exhaling, Shane closed the door and walked in further. "You shouldn't go on a date with Michael," he said, much to Claire's surprise. "Find a nice town boy, don't get caught up with one guy."

"And why can't I go out with him?" she asked, annoyance hinting at her voice.

Shane looked around, avoiding her eyes. "Because," he paused, thinking up some bullshit. "Because Eve likes him," Shane said.

"Funny that, Eve was pretty excited when I told her about the date."

"She's good at acting."

"I thought you and her were together," Claire said honestly.

Shane turned to her so fast Claire thought he would fall to the ground. "You what?" he asked unbelievably. "What gave you that idea?"

"You two seemed really close," Claire shrugged. "You spent a lot of time together."

"Because she's my best friend," Shane almost shouted.

Claire cowered away, his raise in volume a little scary. "How was I supposed to know?" she asked him, her voice much quieter. "I'm new here." She looked to the clock she had hung up on the wall and added, "And thanks to you, now I'm late."

Shane put a hand over his heart and stumbled back. "Oh, how much that hurts," he cynically stated. "Your words cut so deep Claire Elizabeth Danvers."

When Shane finished talking Claire did a double take. "Hold on. How did you know my middle name. I haven't told anyone my middle name. Not anyone here anyhow."

The smile that Shane gave almost melted Claire's heart. "I've been doing research. Your parents -Pete and Josephine- seem like good people. And Mary. She's a stunner, ain't she?"

Claire stood up straight and marched up to Shane. She pushed both her palms into his chest and glared at him. "Get out!" she shouted at him. "Get the fuck out!" Shane looked confused, but realisation dawned in and, before he could get anything out, Michael appeared in the doorway.

He looked from Claire's red face to Shane's look of regret. "What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.

None of them answered, so Michael walked in and wrapped his arms around Claire. He murmured in her ear, but all she could think about was how hurt she felt. Shane had stormed out once the blonde haired guy had walked in, and Claire hoped he had learnt his lesson.

The ache in Claire's chest was so strong she thought she would faint from it. Michael smoothed her hair and Claire turned onto him,the tears coming out. "We can do this another night if you want," he cooed in her ear.

Claire pulled away and shook her head. "I want to do this tonight," she said, wiping away excess tears. "I'm not going to let Shane ruin my mood," she said, mostly to herself. Truth was, Shane had ruined the mood. Not only had he brought up her family, but now she wasn't sure if Eve was fine with Claire going on a date with Michael.

"What was he talking about?" Michael asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Nothing," Claire smiled, the stretch of her lips feeling too fake for her liking. "Are you ready to go?"

Michael nodded and took Claire's hand, guiding her out the door. They said goodbye to Eve who was setting up a horror movie for her -and possibly Shane- to watch. Before they went out the door though, Claire caught the words that Eve had lipped to her.

_Have fun and be careful. Don't get eaten_, she had mouthed, winking in Claire's direction. Michael looked in all different directions and finally deemed it safe to walk to the car.

Once inside, Michael locks the doors and Claire looked at him weirdly. Couldn't vampires break through locks, doors and windows? "There's not just vampires in Morganville," he answered, starting the car. "The lunatics like to come out at night. That's most likely why Shane was being a dick," he joked.

Claire managed a small smile. So obviously Shane was a lunatic. It had come out of Eve's mouth a couple days ago and now it was coming from Michael's mouth. Great friends they were.

They reached the restaurant and Claire had to admit she was surprised. She was expecting a bloodbath, not red leather seats and chandeliers. Okay, so maybe the "chandeliers" were just very fancy lights that were hanging from the roof instead of actual chandeliers, but it was her first date, a girl could imagine things that weren't really there.

Michael guided them to a table that was set in the back corner, no one close to them. "So, do you like?" Michael asked.

"Like? I love it. I have to admit though, I was expecting a Texan bar, not fancy restaurant."

Michael cracked a smile and said, "I'm glad that I surprised you." Before he could anything else out, Claire felt the air cool and heard the chatter stop. She turned to look around, and the people sitting at their own booths had completely frozen, no talking at all.

They were only just breathing. The humans anyway.

Claire was confused, but she saw a beautiful woman standing at the front of the room. Her pale hair was swept up on a bun and she was wearing a pressed tailored suit. She looked eyes with Claire and ordered one of the waitresses over to her.

After a while, the lady dismissed the waitress who was major her way over to her and Michael. "Amelie would like to see you," she said, helping Claire up. Michael stood too, but the waitress shot him a look that said sit down.

Claire followed after the girl that had gotten her and immediately stopped in front do the formal lady. The ladies eyes skimmed Claire up and down, taking in her brown hair all the way to her shoes.

"Who are you?" the lady asked. Her voice was cool, but smooth like honey.

Claire lost her voice, but found it when the vampire's eyes looked straight in her own orbs. "Claire, Miss," Claire sputtered. "Claire Danvers."

"How long have you been here Claire Danvers?"

"Nearly a week, Ma'am."

"You're a child with manners. It's hard to come by manners with this generation of children." ClIre didn't know what to say, but was saved when the woman spoke again. "So you would have heard about the town meeting? You're lucky I've been told you had been stabbed and taken, that you hadn't decided to truant the whole thing. Next time I may not be so lenient. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Claire said quickly, her pulse thumping.

Amelie smiled, but it wasn't a smile that was reassuring, it was one that screamed danger. "Next time, whether you had been stabbed or what, I expect to see you there. I have seen you, I have got your scent, so don't try to run and hide. I will always find you." The last bit sounded like a threat and Claire couldn't stop the shaking.

With that, the vampire left and Claire was standing alone at the front of the room with all eyes on her, like they were waiting for her to flip or whatever. Luckily, Michael caught onto her uneasiness and came to her rescue by towing her out of the building.

Jumping back into Michael's car, Claire felt the engine jolt to life and take off. "Who is she?" Claire asked.

"Who's who?" Michael asked, skimming her a look.

"That woman. Amelie. Why did everyone practically bow don't to her? That waitress, for example, did what the vampire ordered. Why?"

Michael had his eyes glued to the road, though there was hardly any traffic. "That woman," he started, "that everyone practically bowed down to, is the founder of this town. She is the leader and the person that can get you killed in less than a minute if she really wanted to. Amelie is fair, though others do not agree. Her rules are as fair as ever, though no one really thinks so."

"Well, what do you think about the rules?"

Michael looked at her and shrugged, then turned back go the road. "I like to mind my own business. If the rules keep me and the ones I love alive, then I'm not ready to argue with them."

"Do Shane and Eve agree?"

Michael sighed and let out a nervous laugh. "Eve is rebellious. It can be as fair as it can get, but she will still look for a one up. Eve likes to argue a lot and starts shit as well. Shane, on the other hand. His idea of agreeing is that all vampires should be dead. He really hates vampires. And he hates the rules even more."

Before Claire could say anything else, Michael's phone started to ring. He was quite, and Claire could hear the distress yells of a girl on the other end. "Okay, I'll get there fast. Call the police and get them to get there as quick as possible. Lock yourself and Shane in a room." More quiet. "No. Do not let him do that. Put him on."

Michael glanced at her and pushed his foot into the accelerator harder. "Shane, dude, don't do whatever you think is macho man special. Please, do me a favour and take care of Eve. Please. Lock yourself in my room if you have to, just be safe. I'm nearly there and I have Claire in the car, so I have to catch her up. I love you and be safe dude." Michael hung up and sped up. "Shane's father's at the house," Michael answered.

"What does that mean?" Claire asked.

"Nothing good. Nothing good at all."

* * *

**Please, Please, Please follow and review. I need more reviews, and if you already have, thank you so much. **


	7. Chapter 7

Claire and Michael arrived at the Glass house and the first thought Claire had was, _holy shit, what if we're_ _too late?_ The outside of the house was trashed, the windows blown in and the door shattered off its hinges. Michael tensed beside her and she turned to face him.

Before she could open her mouth, Michael ordered, "Stay here. You know how to drive?" A quick nod from Claire. "Okay, when the three of us come out, I want you to start the car and drive us out of this place. Forget all you've been told about signs and so."

Without arguing, Claire slid into the driver's seat when Michael got out. She left the keys in the ignition but turned the car off when she realised how little gas was left.

Her eyes were peeled on the door, waiting for her roommates to escape the wrath of Frank Collins and co. Just then, she heard a rapping on the car window. She looked out of it and saw a bulky man peering in at her.

The man had short cropped brown hair, muscles that bulged from his arms and his shoulders were triple her build. "Crap," she whispered, looking the door. The man wasn't a vampire, Claire was sure of that, but she also wasn't surprised when he smashed the glass and pulled her out by her neck like a rag doll. She screamed and thrashed, but he only pulled her in the house.

Claire's first thought when they walked into the house was, _we're going to be spending the next year_ _cleaning after this mess_. Her second was, _holy crud we're gonna die. _

An understandable thought since there was at least ten men that doubled her height and her build. They weren't overweight, just…bulky. Like Shane's bulky, only bigger than him.

"Who do we have here?" Frank's voice snapped. He saw Claire and an evil smile filtered through. "Claire, dear, how are you?" It was a rhetorical question and Claire was happy to leave it that way. "I heard you cook and clean. That's good, cos my house needs a lot of that." Claire must have let her confusion seep through because the man in front of her laughed and said, "You're coming back to my house. Shane made a trade—you for Alyssa. You know how strong a sibling's bond is."

Claire couldn't believe her ears. She was about to call Frank's bluff when she saw Alyssa. She was being held by Shane who was staring at what was playing out. He shot her an apologetic look and then turned away.

Frank laughed again and Claire jumped when she felt hands encircle her waist from behind. "Just me, sweetheart. It'll be good to have a hot youngster to wake up to. C'mon, I don't think my men can hold your boyfriend any longer. He seems pissed."

Turning her head, Claire saw Michael fighting against two men. He caught Claire's eye and fought harder. Before he looked like he was going to break free, Claire was lifted from the ground and was being carried outside.

The air seemed colder than it did before and Claire only then realised that she hadn't seen Eve in the room. "Get in," Frank snapped. Claire followed the orders and tried to ignore the betrayed feeling deep in her stomach.

Shane had let her get taken from his father. Yes, it may have gotten Alyssa back, but it really hurt that he hadn't had a problem with trading Claire in. She tried breathing, but all that happened was that sobs got caught in her throat.

Frank leaned over to her and slapped her over the head. "Stop crying. God, why are ALL you girls such criers?"

Claire had a comeback right on the tip of her tongue, but thought better and just let it slip. Her head stung a little, but she had a feeling this was just the beginning of the abuse.

The car rocked to a stop and Claire felt herself fly forward and hit the chair in front of her. She looked around and saw anger on Frank's face. This wasn't part of the plan, Claire thought smugly. But who had come to her rescue? If they'd come to save her, that is.

A loud squealing sound came and Claire turned her head in time to see dark hair next to her own head. She muffled a scream and saw whose red eyes she was looking into.

"Myrnin," she whisper-yelled, getting scooped up by him.

"The one and only," he smiled back. Suddenly a whirl of wind was blowing her hair back from her face and she couldn't help but cradle her face into the crook of the vampire's neck.

The wind stopped and Claire opened her eyes up. The room was spinning, but she still half managed to take everything in. It was dank and dark, and nothing seemed to be in order. Books and equipment were sprawled everywhere, and there was hardly any furniture apart from a dangerously old and broken chair.

"Where are we?" Claire asked, her voice a quiet whisper.

"At my home." He grabbed her hand and towed her to a single closed door. "You can rest in here." Upon opening the door, Myrnin sped in and whipped down the covers of the small bed that stood on all fours on the small bedroom. Material was suddenly flying at her, and Claire had to quickly catch it before it hit her square in the face. "Put this on."

Myrnin left and Claire pulled the skinny jeans off and the tee off before chucking on the top Myrnin threw to her. It reached just past her knee and Claire was glad that Myrnin was tall. Like, gigantic tall.

Next stop was bed. She had just reached it when she felt the need to pee. Maybe she could've ignore it, but it was too late, she had shown her bladder the attention it wanted. She sighed and silently cracked open the door.

Myrnin was sitting on the old chair, a book in his hands. He looked up at her and gave her a smile. "Can I help you dear? I thought you were going to sleep."

"I am. I just have to use the bathroom."

The vampire with long, curly, black hair pointed at a door only a little down from the bedroom. "Just in there. I'm going to go…out, but you're safe on here. No one even thinks to look here for anyone." The last sentence was a mumble, most likely to himself, so Claire left it.

She went to the toilet, and sure enough, when she emerged, Myrnin was gone. It was getting late, thought there were no clocks to tell the time and her phone was in the room, so Claire went back to bed and decided that she should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow, she would think of where to go and what to do. As for now, sleep sounded just about perfect.

Claire awoke to the scent of coffee and the sound of someone humming. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a mug full of brown liquid on the bedside table beside her head.

Sitting up, Myrnin swam into focus. He was looking down at her, his lips pressed together humming a tune. He was wearing a trench coat with shorts that were too big for him, giving him a gangster look. He also wore a hat that she was sure belonged to a woman.

"Morning lovely," he said, handing her a grease soaked bag. "Enjoy." With that he left. He had a habit of doing that. First skipping out of the hospital, now this. Pushing it far out of her mind, Claire opened the bag. It held a hotdog with mustard and cheese.

Biting into it, Claire washed it down with a swig of the addictive caffeine next to her. The. She saw a note that was stick to the bag. '_I saw your arms. I hope you're not doing it still_.' Claire was confused until she looked down and gasped.

On her wrists were pale scars that were healed. They weren't new, but they hadn't fully gone back to Claire's tanned colour. They had been the oldest cuts that she had delivered to her skin before coming to Morganville. There was more -a lot more- but they were mainly on her thighs and forearms.

She rarely harmed her wrists -too noticeable- but that had been when she couldn't take it anymore. When she was trying to end her life. She never tried to commit suicide since that day, but she still cut and bit her skin.

That's what happens when you loose someone close to you and then get bullied about things you can't help. It just shows you how much these creatures we call "humans" care about one another.

* * *

**Hello, hey, hi!**

**Just so you know, I take self harm VERY seriously. When I do talk about it in my stories, I obviously use it with all my heart. I'm so very sorry if this upsets anyone, and if it does, please let me know. With that being, I have a history with self harm, so I know what it's like.**

**I know practically everyone says this, but here, you get to witness it again: If you ever need anyone to talk to, I am always here for you. I promise I won't judge—I actually can't even put up with others judging each other, and if you do tell me anything, I won't tell anyone.**

**Anyway, I could actually write on this topic FOREVER, but I'm sure I'll bore you. So, please vote, follow and Review.**

**Remember, I'm here if you EVER need to talk.**

**Peace out Xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry it isn't long, but it's the best I could come up with. Just add the two that I've put up today, and tada, you have a long chapter. Again, I'm sorry. **

* * *

Claire finished breakfast and got up, chucking on her jacket from last night. She was about to go out and find Myrnin, but thought that maybe she should get fully dressed for that.

Slipping on her clothing from yesterday, Claire finally walked out. Myrnin wasn't in his chair, but then her eyes slid to a tall figure standing over a bench. His posture was stiff and unmovable, so Claire tided herself over to him.

Myrnin glanced at her and Claire noticed that his eyes were their usual dark colour, but also had glossiness covering them. "Myrnin, are you okay?"

The vampire turned to her and nodded. He turned away and Claire placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched under her touch, but didn't pull away. Again, she asked what was wrong. "It's nothing," he said in that voice that told her to leave it.

Deciding not to push her luck, Claire changed the subject. "How did you know about my wrists?" she asked him. He turned to her at that point and looked down at her covered arm.

Myrnin looked at her with sadness in the glassy eyes of his. "I found out last night. I went in to ask you a question but you were sleeping. I was just about to leave when you mumbled something and rolled over. Thinking you were awake, I walked back over. Your arm was sticking out, your wrist face up. I saw it but didn't want to wake you." He looked to think before he spoke his next few words. "Do you still hurt yourself, Claire?"

She didn't know what to say. She could lie like she does to everyone, or she could tell him the truth.

Before she could answer, he tutted and said, "I see."

"You see what?"

Myrnin pointed to his head and Claire knew what he was going to say. "I can read your mind. Anyway, that's not what we're talking about. If I asked you to stop, would you?"

Again, truth or lie? Claire knew he had heard her thoughts, but wanted her to say it. Should she be hypocritical as to make a promise and keep it for Myrnin, or should she just fake it like she had with her best friend, Elizabeth?

"Myrnin, I…" She let her sentence hang dead and Myrnin nodded.

"I thought you were better than this Claire," he said, walking away.

Those eight words really stung, and Claire shot back at him, "You're just like the rest. You find out and then walk away scared. Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, it may be the fact that I just need to talk to someone who'll listen?"

Myrnin stopped walking and turned back to her. "I do listen, Claire. I listen to everything. Not just what you say, but what your mind is saying. Forget her Claire. Obviously your sister is gone for a reason. Cutting will not bring her back."

The world seemed to spin and anger pinned Claire in place. She was so overwhelmed that she didn't even have time to brace herself for the fall to the ground. It hurt, but Myrnin's words hurt more.

He huffed and tried to help her up, but Claire batted his hands away. "I don't need your help," she cried out. "Just let me be."

Myrnin picked her up much to her protesting, and he placed her on the bench he had been working on. "Claire, I'm sorry. The last thing I had wanted to do was hurt you. Please, forgive me."

She moved her head to pierce his eyes with her glare. "Hurt me? You think you hurt me?" She smiled weakly, a little crazily. "Hurting me would be that you were the one controlling the blade, or any sharp object for that matter, that bit into my skin. Hurting me would be piercing my skin with your fangs. No, you didn't hurt me, you sucked the life from me."

Myrnin's eyes flashed crazily, and before Claire knew what was happening, he had captured her lips with his own. He stood in between her legs, and Claire felt his tongue rub against her lower lip, begging for entry.

Without knowing it, Claire had opened her mouth, Myrnin's tongue rubbing and diving with hers. The black haired vampire's hands were placed firmly on the table, gripping the edge.

Myrnin was the first to pull away, much to Claire's disappointment. He looked at her and smiled. Smiled. Claire had expected him to swear and turn away, but he just smiled at her.

"You've no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said.

Claire couldn't answer, she was busy focusing on her breathing. That was just…wow. Amazing. "I'm glad you did," she muttered, watching Myrnin smile again. Claire leant in to kiss him, but was stopped by someone clearing their throat. The both of them turned and saw Amelie standing in the doorway.

"If your done?" she mumbled loudly. She now had the full of their attention, something she was great at doing. "I came to see how our dear Claire was going. Things are obviously doing well."

"Is Frank still after her?" Myrnin asked.

Amelie looked straight at Myrnin, her face showing no sign of expression. "Well, yes. We may have to keep her in hiding, my old friend. She can stay here," Amelie demanded. "I will get some clothes delivered here this noon."

Myrnin nodded and turned to Claire. "That is fine with you?" he asked.

"Yeah. I have nowhere else to go anyway."

"Fantastic. I shall see you two some time later this week. Oh, and Myrnin? Nolite occides in puella."

Myrnin looked down and nodded, a slight movement. Claire watched the Founder walk out and tipped Myrnin's head back up to her. "What did she say?"

"It does not matter." He then pushed Claire's sleeve up and placed his lips to the scars that covered her veins. He moved his lips back up to her mouth. As they were kissing, Claire was only acutely aware that he had picked her up and was now pushing her against the wall.

One of his hands secured her waist, and the other was stuck to her cheek, walking her through how he liked to be kissed. Thing was, Claire had never been kissed until this moment. That was one of many things running through her head, so she was sure that Myrnin would know by now.

Her phone started ringing, cutting off what was going on. She quickly scrabbled down from Myrnin and ran to the room, catching the phone on the third ring. "Hello?" she breathlessly asked.

"Claire," the other side breathed.

"Mum?" Claire questioned, the phone ringing dead. "Mum, pick up." The phone kept the silence, so Claire hung up and tried again. Voicemail. Twice. Thrice. Giving in, she tried her dad. The same outcome. "Answer, fuck it!" she screamed, throwing the phone.

"Claire?" Myrnin asked, walking in.

She ran to him and threw herself to him. "My parents," she cried into his shoulder. "They won't answer their phones."

"Probably busy," he answered.

Little did Claire know what was actually going on. What she would soon find out. Myrnin didn't like keeping it from her, nor did he like that he had to use her, but how else was he meant to gain her trust?

* * *

**Oh, what's going on? Just to keep things interesting, next chapter will be Shane's point of view. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Anyway, here was your Claire and Myrnin chapter ;) **

**Just so you know and don't have to look it up, "Nolite occides in puella." means "Do not kill the girl."**

**You know the drill: Review and Fave. Xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, so I have something you might be happy about. As promised, this chapter is from Shane's point of view. I hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

_And she's gonna hate me._ I kept telling myself these words over and over. I was glad Alyssa was back, but did my father have to lie to Claire about it? I was desperate to get Alyssa back, but I wouldn't trade Claire in to get my sister, it's just wrong.

What was even more wrong, was that dad had threatened to kill Eve if I hadn't gone along with the act. Now that creep was with Claire doing God knows what to her. I wouldn't be surprised if her death was printed all over the newspaper.

"Shane?" a quiet voice questioned. "Shane, are you mad at me?" Alyssa was sitting on the bed next to my outstretched body. I rolled over and looked up into her worried big brown eyes.

"No. Of course not. Lyss, I have no reason to be mad at you." Not a true reason anyway. I couldn't help but someway blame Alyssa. It wasn't her fault dad was such a dick, but it was partway her fault. Maybe if she had left with me a long time ago we wouldn't be in this mess.

She laid down beside me and I reached down to stroke her brown hair. "Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" I asked, though I could already guess my expression. It would be one that said, '_Why do I have to lie about this to my little sister. She deserves to know how I feel_.'

Thing is, I couldn't bring myself to tell her. If I did, then I'd have to admit the truth to myself: I was falling for poor, helpless Claire. But truth was, she was far from helpless. If anything, she was strong, independent Claire. Yeah, Shane, no, don't push it. She's strong, but still needs help.

I tried everything to shut up the voices in my head, but they weren't leaving. They kept telling me that I was crushing on her and needed to help her. I decided it was best to stay right here and see how it plays out.

I faintly heard Alyssa calling out my name, but I just ignored her. I know she most likely had shit she wanted to say, but I couldn't make myself listen at the moment. There was a knock on the door and Eve stepped through.

Not surprising. The only other person who was here wasn't talking to me—he refused to even look me in the eye. Michael blamed it all on me, though when I try to explain it to him, he doesn't let me.

"What is it Eve?" I snapped. I didn't mean to, and immediately felt guilty for doing so. "Sorry," I apologised. "Just on edge."

Eve nodded, the bandage on her throat crinkling and straightening with each bob. I really hated my dad at that point. He had gotten someone to hold a knife to her throat, cutting a millimetre of her skin each time I argued.

"I get it. I truly do Shane. But we will get her back, I promise."

"Who does "we" stand for?"

Eve bit her lip and said, "You, me, and…Michael." At that point, a blob of blonde hair walked in.

I sat up at that point, not believing my eyes. "You're—"

"Just because I'm here doesn't mean I'm talking to you mate," Michael snapped at Shane. "I'm doing this for Claire. She should be here right now, studying in her room. But no, you were too selfish to let that happen, weren't you."

I felt fury fly through my veins at that point. _How dare he blame me,_ I thought. _I didn't exactly plan for Claire to be taken._ But, somehow, it is my fault. I should have stood up to my dad, not cower away like a pussy. That was that. I was going to go find Claire.

"At the moment, I don't care what you think. Eve, get the keys and stack up on vampire hunting material. Michael, do whatever the fuck you wanna do, and Alyssa, stay here and…watch TV," I said, shoving the remote at her.

She stood up so fast I thought she would fall, but surprised me when she started yelling, "No, Shane, I'm not staying here. You stay! I'm sick of being treated like the child you all think I am. I'm sixteen Shane. Sixteen. I'm old enough to make my own decisions!"

I was about to yell back at her, but Michael interrupted me. "Alyssa, do what your brother says. Claire didn't get taken by your father just for you to fuck up again. You're staying here, and you won't argue." Surprisingly, Alyssa didn't argue back, she just huffed and plopped herself down.

Lyss has always secretly had a thing for Michael. Unfortunately (for her), Michael didn't like her back. Instead, she just decided to go back to the "suffer in silence" type.

To be honest, I was happy that Mikey and her weren't dating. When they break up, it would have just gotten awkward. Anyway, Alyssa is nearly always turning heads with her average height, average weight, wide brown eyes, waist length brown hair and long legs.

She doesn't have a boyfriend, but I guess that's my fault too. I mean, I didn't mean to punch the guy that she was sucking face with, my hand just kind of slipped. And so did my foot. Over and over again. Anyhow, I'm sure you get the picture. The guy was a player anyways.

"Shane," Eve called from downstairs. I huffed, but started my way down the wooden stairs. They creaked under my weight, and I knew that Eve had sensed that I was there. She turned and ran to me, hiding behind my broad build.

"What is it?" I asked, looking down at her. She pointed a shaky finger to the door and I saw what had her scared. The guy from earlier who had the knife to her neck was in the doorway, a smile stretched along his face. "I think this is the time you run upstairs, shut my door, lock it, and don't open it until you hear me tell you otherwise."

Eve looked like she was going to argue back, but I shot her a glance. She rolled her eyes and casually walked up the stairs, her shoulders slumped a little. That was one thing I loved about Eve. Even in the most dangerous of times, Eve will always leave her trust in you and carry on like nothing is happening. Or is about to.

My thoughts got cut off by a floorboard creaking as the guy stepped in. He was fairly ugly, but I wouldn't expect anything else from my dad. With his big build and tall height, the buzz cut he wore just made him look uglier than ever. I tutted and shook my head.

"And he sent you why?" I asked casually, though I was pissing sweat from fright. "I really did need a self esteem boost, I was feeling a bit tough about myself lately. Thought I was finally loosing my beauty, but then my dad sent you. That notched my self esteem up by a tonne."

The man growled and I knew I was pushing it, but I couldn't help but piss him off further. "I knew this town was full of vampires, but now it has werewolves in it as well? Gee, feel free to chase your tail, I have time. Or maybe you want to play fetch? I like that game. And if you need some food afterwards, I'm sure we have leftover meat. Not dog food though, we ran out yesterday. The stuff tastes too good to leave uneaten."

My dad's servant pounced at me, but I moved just in time to avoid getting a mouthful of fist. As much as I love fist for dinner, I wasn't really that hungry at the moment.

"Oh, I see. You're cat woman. Obviously. How could I have overlooked that?" I tapped my head as if it were the most obvious thing. I leant forward and whispered, "Meow," before he jumped and caught ahold of my collar. "Aqua-man, Ironman, Spider-Man, come help me!" I yelled, though the guy was choking off my breathing.

"Meow," he hissed in my ear before he flung a closed fist at my face. He hit me right in the jaw, my head flinging back. He pulled back for another delivery, but I lifted my foot and kicked him in his guy parts. Hey, I'm a dude, I know how much it hurts, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

He let me go and I managed to punch him back in the face, one after another, until I could tell he was unconscious. I had just finished tying him up with my belt when Eve called out to me from up the stairs.

"I thought I told you to lock the door until I came to get you," I shouted up, annoyed.

"And I was listening," she protested, "until Claire called. I know where she is, Shane. We're gonna go get her."

_Finally_, I thought. _Something was going right for once._

* * *

**Please tell me how it went. If you want me to write from someone else's POV, then please let me know. Well, you should know how this goes by now, but I'll remind you: Please follow, favourite and Review! Xx **


	10. Chapter 10

**And here we are, back at Claire's POV. Remember, if you wanna see the story from a different character's POV, just let me know. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

Claire quickly sent a text to Eve, telling her where she was. Almost forgetting, Claire quickly told her not to tell Shane. With all honesty, Claire totally doubted that Eve wouldn't tell Shane.

After checking her parents' phones again, Claire slipped her phone back in her pocket and walked out to the main lab. Myrnin had convinced her that she was overreacting, that her parents would call if something was wrong, so Claire just agreed and secretly hoped they would call soon.

When she reached the big open space of the laboratory, Claire saw that Myrnin was in his seat, a book in his lap. He looked up, as if sensing that Claire had emerged from his room, and placed the book on the ground beside him.

He motioned for her to come over, and she did so without arguing. Standing in front of him, Claire felt his arm slide around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. "You look beautiful," he complimented her. And for once, Claire was going to take that compliment because that was exactly how she was feeling.

She looked down at the clothes that Amelie had had delivered to her. The material was soft against her skin, and it wasn't baggy, nor was it tight. The dress was tight -though not uncomfortably so- around her chest and flowed loosely around her waist and ended just above her knees. It was the best piece of clothing Claire has worn since coming to Morganville.

"Thank you," she said, noticing that Myrnin was staring at her. She blushed slightly, and had to turn her head away when Myrnin started laughing at her.

Lush lips were pressed to her throat just under her jaw and Claire couldn't help but shrug at the gesture. It tickled, okay. "Oh, so that's one place where you're ticklish. Let's just try that again."

His lips returned back to her neck and Claire squirmed again. "Stop." No matter how threatening Claire tried to make the word, it came out more as a moan.

"Are you sure you want me to?" he asked, his lips sweeping across her jawline. "If you are unchanging of your answer, you know I'll stop. It's just about whether you really want me to."

He kept kissing her jawline until he dipped his head to send flutters of kisses to her collarbone. Claire tipped her head back to allow him more access, and Myrnin took the chance to send more kisses.

The vampire then travelled up to her throat, still kissing her. Finally reaching her lips, Myrnin kissed Claire with so much passion she felt weak to the touch. He encircled her waist in his grip and Claire leant back, twisting to straddle his lap.

Myrnin took the chance to move one hand and place it on her bare thigh. That made Claire pull back, and Myrnin looked confused. "Don't," she whispered, seizing his hand in hers.

Allowing her to pull his hand away, Myrnin placed one hand on Claire's lower back and one across her shoulder blades. "That better?" he asked, letting only a little bit of annoyance into his voice.

Claire nodded and leaned into the kiss, tangling her tiny hands in his black, luscious hair. She pulled at it when Myrnin tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth and the vampire under her let out a moan.

A laugh escaped Claire's lips into Myrnin's mouth and that made him bite harder. Apparently hard enough to draw blood. But at the moment, Claire didn't care, she just went back to kissing him. Clearly Myrnin had different plans.

Before Claire knew what was going on, Myrnin had her pinned underneath him on the tiny one seated chair. "Myrnin," she wined, trying to get him off of her. "Myrnin, stop." He kept his mouth on hers and Claire realised that he was sucking the blood from her lip. "Myrnin, I mean it!" she shouted around his mouth.

He kept sucking her lower lip, so Claire did the only thing she could thing of: she kneed him in the groin. _So, _Clairethought, noting the action, _even hitting vampires in the groin hurts. Serves him right for being a dick._

Myrnin reeled away and off Claire, gripping between his legs. Claire took the opportunity to jump up from the seat, fix her clothing and run towards the staircase, hoping it led to the outside world.

A growl was heard behind her and Claire knew it was Myrnin. He leapt at her, gripping her shoulders between his extremely large hands. He pushed her against the wall and gripped her waist in a vice-like hold.

No matter how hard she squirmed, she couldn't get his hand off of her. Forget the attempt to escape—that would be impossible. Tilting her head to the side, Myrnin popped his fangs out and sunk them deep into her skin. Claire screamed and struggled, but it was no use.

Darkness came closing in quickly and Claire stopped the struggle. She was about to give into the dark until she heard banging from above the stairs. She tried struggling again, and even took up screaming until her voice went hoarse.

"Claire!" a scream came. Myrnin pulled back, obviously annoyed, and hit Claire into the nearest person coming. She hit the solid body and they both went tumbling, hitting each step edge.

Claire knew she should look up, but she couldn't bring herself to see who was holding her so tightly her entrails were about to burst out of her eye sockets. Finally putting her fear away, Claire looked up…right into the brown eyes she missed so dearly. And then reality hit in.

"Get away! It's your fault that this all happened. Don't talk to me, don't touch me and don't come near me! I can't believe you did that to me!" Hoarse voice or not, Claire was going to scream until her lungs burst open.

"Claire, listen to me. I—" He was cut off by someone else calling her name.

"Oh sweetie," Eve breathed, practically throwing herself at Claire. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Opening her mouth to speak, Claire was caught off guard by a mop of beautiful, messy blonde hair that belonged to a God. Running to him, Claire jumped at Michael and trusted he would catch her. Luckily, she was right. Michael had caught her with open arms, lifting her off her feet.

"Michael, it was horrible," she sobbed into his shoulder. "He bit me and I felt myself loosing consciousness."

Holding her closely, Michael asked the one question she knew she didn't want to answer: How'd it happen?

"Well," she started nervously. "We were kissing, and then he playfully tugged on my lip with his normal teeth. I laughed at him because I made him moan, so he bit my lip harder. Hard enough to draw blood. I didn't think anything of it, so I went back to kissing him. That was when he broke and attacked me." Claire's adrenaline had kicked in, making it easier to explain what had happened, but now she felt so nervous she was gonna drop.

Michael gripped Claire's chin and turned her head to the side, leaving her neck bare. He ran his free fingers over where Myrnin had bit her and she saw his eyebrows dig deep into his forehead as he studied her throat.

What he did next surprised her out of oblivion. Michael pushed her out of the way and straight into…Myrnin's arms. The vampire caught her and leaned down to sniff her neck.

"Okay, so we'll go, and you can stay here and make out with the bloodsucker. I thought you better than that Claire. Obviously not. C'mon guys, we have to go." Michael started up the stairs and Claire knew he was serious. And to make things worse, Myrnin started trailing kisses along her neck and jawline.

Suddenly, Myrnin went limp, releasing Claire and letting her droop to the ground. She hit the cold floor and silently pulled herself into a seating position. Eve helped her to her feet and Claire stumbled before regaining her balance as they ran. Shane stayed behind, watching their backs.

Reaching the cool air, Claire crashed into a body and screamed, glancing up to see Oliver looming over her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed, even though she hardly knew him.

"He's in the laboratory, take care of him. There's a stake in his heart, so you'll have to pull it out. Text how it goes," Eve demanded, pulling Claire and Shane to the car that Michael was waiting in. He barely glanced at them before starting the car and taking off once they were inside.

Eve was next to Claire in the car, and she kept asking if she was okay. "I'm fine," Claire whined, placing a hand on her neck. "Just sore."

"Yeah, well, you did just get pierced in the throat by two fangs. I'm sure it wouldn't be a soft ride." Michael scoffed in the front and Eve glared at him through the front mirror. "C'mon, tell us what you're thinking Blondie," Eve demanded.

Much to Claire's surprise, Michael actually answered. Not to Claire's surprise, it was about her. "It may hurt the first time, but I'm sure that fang bangers get use to it after a while and it becomes a "soft ride"" he answered, mimicking Eve.

"Claire is not a fang-banger," Eve answered annoyed.

"Pretty sure she is," Michael answered back.

"What's a fang-banger?" Claire cut in.

Eve looked to Michael, but he went quiet and made it obvious that he wasn't going to answer. Eve sighed and said, "A fang-banger is someone who spends all their time with vampires giving them blood whenever and wherever. Really, they're just sluts and whores trying to get in with the vamps," Eve summed up.

Claire sighed, annoyed, and said to Michael, fairly loudly, "I'm not a fang-banger. I don't know who you think you are, but no way do you have any rights to mark me as something I'm not. I don't know what has gotten you this way, but you were a fair gentleman on our date. Now if you will, I'd like for you to return that way."

Shane sniggered in the passenger seat, and Eve was nearly out of breath from laughing so hard. Claire couldn't see Michael's reaction, but she would have liked to see his face at being told off like he had.

Suddenly there was a deep chuckle from the seat in front of her. Michael. "You're alright Claire. You're alright. You know how to put people in their spots, and that's something you have to be able to do when you live in the Glass house with a bunch of asses. Take it from me."

Claire was so confused she had trouble piecing words together. "You. What? I thought…you said…what's going on?"

Eve managed to wheeze out through laughs, "We wanted to see how you'd react to being treated like that. This whole thing was just an act to see if you would be able to put up with the three of us in the house. Obviously you can," she added, breathing in deeply.

"So Frank took me just as an act? Myrnin helped me escape, kissed me, and then bit me, nearly killing me, all to play along in your game?"

Eve bit her lip and replied with, "Well, no, that was all real. It was just the whole Michael being pissed at you thing that was fake."

"Oh." That made sense. "What made you think that I wasn't going to fit in with the three of you?"

"The fact that you're quiet, nice and only sixteen. You go to college and are smart. We are…there. Not inhumanly smart, I mean." Claire had expected Eve to have answered, maybe even Michael, but Shane had answered instead.

Claire felt a wicked smile slip onto her face, and uttered, under her breath but just loud enough for the three of them to hear, "Just wait until you see the real me."

* * *

**So, how'd the chapter go? Please Review if you can. I feel like the story's getting bad, so please let me know how my writing's going. Love ya lovelies! Xx**


	11. Chapter 11

They arrived at the Glass house and were greeted by a burst of sirens and lights out the front. "W-what's going on?" Claire stuttered out.

"I don't know," Michael answered, turning to Shane. "Did you do something to get in trouble with the fuzz?"

Shane returned the look and shook his head. "Not that I know of," he said. A few moments passed and Shane suddenly let air out of his mouth harshly and turned back to Michael. "Now that I think about it," he started, "this may or may not be about a blown up toilet at the high school."

Michael's head whipped to Shane with a disbelieving look. "What's this shit about a blown up toilet? How the hell do you even blow up a toilet?"

A grin came to Shane's face and he said, "With science."

Now it was Eve's time to talk. "Science? I didn't even think you knew that subject existed. Didn't you ditch class every science lesson?"

"Only when we had Mrs. Pulan. She only did theory. That's when I wagged. But, when we had Mr. Holigin, then I'd go to class because that was experiment time."

Claire was staring open mouthed and hadn't realised until Eve reached over and closed it for her. "Sup Claire Bear?" she asked.

"You ditched class because you had to do theory?" she blurted out at Shane.

"Pretty much," he smiled. "But, back to the toilet incident, I was experimenting. Turns out if you mix certain substances, it explodes."

"Then what does it have to do with a toilet?" Claire asked.

"I needed to pee, but didn't want to be caught using the lab, so I took the chemicals with me and mixed them in the bathroom." He stopped and then decided to carry on when no one interrupted. "Yeah, it started to bubble and spit, so I chucked it down the toilet and ran. Was halfway down the hallway when it exploded," he finished.

Michael shook his head and a sigh escaped his lips. "And you were at the school why? And when?" he quickly asked.

"Yesterday," Shane answered. "I went to go see Alyssa, but turns out she wasn't at school. I was walking past the laboratory, and it called to me man, I had to." A light seemed to suddenly light up Shane's eyes and he quickly cursed. "Shit, Alyssa. She's still in the house."

Michael turned into the driveway and Shane catapulted out, taking off at a run. "Shane," Eve yelled out, just before the brown haired guy was tackled to the ground. Michael turned around and demanded, "The both of you stay in the car. Don't leave until I tell you to."

"What? No. You can't do that Michael. That is absolute bullshit," Eve argued.

"Eve, can you just do this for me? I don't know what's wrong or what's brought them here, but it can't be anything good," Michael sighed.

Eve huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, sinking into the chair. Michael mumbled a thank you and jumped out, running to where Shane was thrashing about on the ground.

A policeman stopped Michael, and they got into a conversation. A heated one by the way Michael was throwing his hands around in gestures. The police glanced over to the car and pointed, his eyes assessing Claire and Eve. His eyes finally met Claire's and he tilted his head, turning to Michael, still pointing at the car.

Michael glanced over and rubbed a hand over his face. He shook his head, but the man had a hand to his work belt. Out came handcuffs and Michael did a little beckoning call for Claire. He called for her, so she got out and slowly walked over to where Michael stood.

Eve joined Claire's side suddenly, expectedly, and had her hand on Claire's shoulder. "Claire Danvers?" the policeman questioned.

"Yes Sir," Claire answered, wondering why they wanted her.

"Miss Danvers, you're going to have to come with us."

Claire still didn't understand what this was about, so she asked, "May I know what this is concerning Sir?"

"The Founder wishes to speak to you," he answered.

"Why would the Founder wish to speak to me?" Claire asked the officer. "I only found out who she was the other night."

The man sighed and said, "I do not know Miss. I'm just following orders. I guess if you come with me, you're soon to find out."

Claire was a little more than skeptical. She looked over to where Shane was still on the ground and drew in a breath. Shane probably deserved to be held down, but she still couldn't help but ask, "Do you think you could get your friends to let Shane go? He has done nothing wrong."

The police holding Shane down got off of him and glared, Shane returning the glare before he took off at a run inside the house. Seconds later he returned with Alyssa. Claire was following them with her eyes until she faintly heard her name being called.

"Pardon me?" she politely asked. In front of her, green eyes bore into hers, and she couldn't help but scowl when he rolled his eyes at her. _He is handsome_, Claire thought. He was on the slim side with a fair build, blonde hair, and amazing green eyes that sparkle.

"I was wondering if you were going to get in the car of your own accord, or am I going to have to drag you?" Annoyance hinted at his words, along with smugness. Smugness was obviously due to the fact that he had just caught Claire checking him out.

Eve's hand tightened on Claire's shoulder, her black nails sure to break skin through the top she was wearing. "May as well," Claire exhaled, planning on walking forward. Apparently Eve and Michael had other ideas. "Guys, I have to go," she told her friends.

"And we're coming with you," Michael pressed, grabbing her hand and entwining their fingers.

"Sorry Mr. Glass, only Claire can come. Founder's orders."

"Then contact _Amelie_ and let her know Miss Danvers isn't coming unless her friends do," Michael said.

"I'll be sure to contact the _Founder_ now," green eyes stated, walking over to another officer. Soon, a bulky, black haired man walked over. Claire's brain suddenly interpreted that this was one of the officers who had helped hold Shane down.

Black hair stared the three of them up and down, only averting his eyes to stare at Shane when he approached. The officer's mouth upturned into a snarl and his eyes narrowed at Shane, earning a smart ass grin from the brown haired hulk.

"Hello Alec," Shane said, giving a wiggle of his fingers in a mock wave. "Good to see you again old friend."

"Too bad the feeling isn't mutual," Alec growled.

Shane placed a hand over his heart and mocked a fake hurt face. "That hurt so much," he whined. "I thought you would have missed me some. I haven't seen you since the duel."

"You two had a sword fight?" Claire spat out before she could stop it.

Michael, Shane, Alyssa and Eve all laughed, but the police officer stayed neutral. "Well, no," Shane started before continuing. "Last year, Alec arrested me for domestic disturbance and I also started a fight. The first thing I found was a bread and butter knife, so I pretended to try to slice his face off with it."

Claire was about to go on with questions, but Blondie from earlier stepped in. "You don't have to worry about coming with me anymore," he said. Before Claire could ask why, he said, "You don't have to come because Amelie is coming here. And she isn't in a good mood. In fact, she's ready to rip heads off."

* * *

**I'm so sorry. I know it's a late update, it stinks and is short, but it is an update nonetheless. I would love if you could Review this! I have a few ideas on what to add in, but would really appreciate it if you could please give me some more.**

**Anyway, I'll try to make the next chapter better. Love ya lovelies. Xx**


	12. Chapter 12

Claire stared open mouthed as a slick black Sedan pulled up in the drive of the house. The car door opened and a blur of shadow whooshed past. A human man walked over to Claire and stopped in front of her. "The Founder wishes to speak to you," he told her, his deep voice breaking the awkward silence. Claire drew in a breath to speak, but that deep voice came again. "Do not ask questions or argue, for thy lady in there," he said, pointing to the house where Amelie had entered, "is not in a very good mood."

Claire took the warning and looked back at her friends and shrugged. "I like to keep my blood in my veins, not a vampire's mouth," she murmured, readying herself for the unprepared meeting.

"You're not gonna let us in as well; are you?" Michael asked. Claire wasn't sure who he was talking to, so she spoke anyway.

"No, I'm not going to. If anything happens, drive to a safe -well, safer- place"

Michael looked at Claire and she thought she saw one side of his mouth come up at the edge. "I wasn't talking to you, sweetie," he kindly told her. "I was talking to her," he added, pointing to the doorway where Amelie stood.

The Founder didn't say or do anything, just stood in one spot. After a few moments passed, Amelie moved back inside, but not before she scooted her eyes to look at Claire.

"You better go in," a voice said at her side.

Claire turned her head and saw a wash of brown hair before she finally connected her eyes with Alyssa's. "I should," Claire agreed, "before she decides to swap me for you. Wouldn't be the first time."

Shane looked guilty at that, but he also had another emotion. An emotion that looked a little like sadness. _Good_, Claire thought, _he deserves it._ "Claire," he muttered, cutting off her reverie. "Claire, I didn't want to give you up. Frank—"

Claire walked away, not ready for his bullshit. When she entered the house, Claire found Amelie straight away in the parlour that Claire had hardly noticed before now.

Walking in, Claire saw not only the ruler of the town, but also two other vampires behind her. Noting Claire's reaction, Amelie's cool voice ordered the vamps to leave. They did so without a word.

"So, young one," she spoke to Claire, her voice soft but cool. "Lovely of you to finally join me," she said after a beat, this time her voice cold and hard.

Claire didn't know what to say to that, she just stood there, knowing very well she ought to say something. "I-I'm sorry to keep you waiting?" she replied in more of a questioning tone.

"You did more than just keep me waiting. You, my girl, have been showing defiance. I do not bid well when someone is brazen when I expect them to show respect."

Nodding, Claire said, "I won't do it again. I just don't understand what this is all about. I'm not interesting in anyway."

"Oh, but you are my dear. You just don't know it yet. See, I knew your parents way back. Back when you were born, I believe." Claire didn't understand what was going on, but Amelie didn't seem to care. "Yes, when you were born. A couple streets down if I remember correctly. Your mother had just given birth to you and had asked my permission for the four of you to leave. I was reluctant, but agreed anyhow. But there were rules, of course. You see, I knew about your sister's illness before your parents even did. I could sense it in her."

As Amelie came up for a breath, Claire cut in quickly. "Miss, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I really don't feel comfortable with you talking about my sister. If that's all this is about, I think we're done here." Claire went to leave but Amelie told her to sit. For some reason, Claire obliged.

"Now," Amelie sighed, "where was I?" Thinking back, Amelie seemed to remember. "Ah, of course. I made your parents swear an oath that they simply agreed to, due to the fact that they would do anything to get out of here. The agreement was that they would bring your sister back once she was of the age of sixteen. A few years later when Mary was sixteen and you were fourteen, they brought her back. I knew from that point on, that this girl had a lot of talent. Magic wise, that is. From then on, I fed her my blood. When your mother and father took the both of you away again, I gave your parents a vile of blood to give to your older sister. A couple of drops each day. I believe she had my blood in her system when she had died."

Claire was sitting there, too stunned to cry. What this lady trying to tell her? What did it mean that Mary had had vampire blood in her system when she had died? A few moments went by and Claire still hadn't spoken.

"Miss Danvers, your sister is here. Maybe not how you remember her, but she is up and around. Living with me in fact."

Still too stunned to say anything, Claire even forgot to breathe at one point. "You mean to tell me my sister is alive and you're just informing me now?"

"Alive wouldn't be the best word to use," Amelie stated. "But yes, you're sister is back from the dead. And I tried to tell you sooner, but it has been a complex procedure. I had to first make sure I had the right person, and then getting you to see me was the most difficult, and then—"

Claire breathed out and shouted, "TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" earning a surprised look from Amelie.

"Excuse me?" Amelie tested, her voice cold and dangerous. "You shall never speak to me that way. Ever."

Claire forced herself to calm down before she went on. "Then please tell me where I can find my sister," she almost whispered.

"Meet me at Founder's Square. You'll have to find your own way there, but I'll send someone for you to bring you to me. Have a good day Claire," she added, running out.

_My sister's alive,_ Claire thought, laughing giddily to herself. _But she's a vampire. What if she acts like Myrnin did? Minus the kissing, of course_. Claire was so caught up she barely even registered that someone had sat on the old couch next to her.

"Now that we're alone and you are finished with your meeting, can we please speak about the whole Alyssa thing?" Shane asked.

Claire looked at him and shook her head. "I don't think I can, Shane. I didn't even think that you'd do that to me."

"Well if you let me fucking explain, then maybe you'd understand why I did it," he said, raising his voice. Claire didn't talk back, so he went on. "Eve's proof by the way, so just ask her if you don't believe me. Anyway. Eve and I were watching a movie when there was a knock on the door. She got up and answered it, after a lot of bickering, and when she returned, my father and his friends were behind her. Dad had Alyssa captured in one of his hands, and he ordered one of his friends to take Eve into the next room. They did just that, threatening to slit her throat if I didn't play along. They made me make you think that I traded you for Alyssa." When Shane looked up, tears were playing in his eyes.

Claire didn't know what to do, but she knew what she was thinking: Shane was telling the truth. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did. He looked down again and Claire grabbed his hand, making him look up at her.

"I believe you," Claire whispered, making his eyes light up with happiness and relief. Suddenly, Claire's lips were moving on Shane's and she was actually enjoying it.

Shane pulled her onto his lap and held onto her hips while she tangled her hands in his hair. His tongue brushed along her bottom lip, asking for entry, and Claire opened her mouth, allowing him to explore her mouth.

He nibbled on her bottom lip every now and then, earning a moan from Claire, which made him groan into her mouth. His hands moved up to her waist, and he picked her up, Claire wrapping her legs around his waist.

Taking each step carefully, Shane carried Claire up to his room, kicking closed the door once they were inside. He placed Claire on the bed, climbing onto her. He placed kisses on her neck, sucking and biting one place specifically.

Rolling Shane over, Claire was on top, her knees straddling his waist. She took her lips to his again, but slowly moved them down his neck to the collar of his shirt. She placed kisses along the collar, sometimes flicking her tongue inside the fabric.

Not being able to take it any longer, Shane sat up and ripped his own shirt off, Claire's eyes getting a treat. "Holy shit," she breathed when she saw his abs. Shane laughed and flipped Claire onto her back, placing his hand on Claire's thigh under her dress.

Getting annoyed with it, Claire asked Shane to take it off for her. "Are you sure?" he asked. Claire nodded, and there were no more questions asked. Shane whipped Claire's dress off and stared at her, drinking her up.

* * *

**A/N I'm gonna warn you all now. Beyond this note has sexual parts. You don't have to read it and if you don't you won't miss much. (I'll tell you anything you need to know in the next chapter). **

* * *

To give herself something to do, Claire fumbled with Shane's belt and jeans, finally undoing them. He took them off and Claire could see his manhood tenting up his boxers.

She reached for the waistband to pull them down, but Shane smacked her hands away. "It's not fair," he murmured. Claire gave him a questioning look, and he replied, "You have your bra and undies on, I only have my boxers. Not fair."

Claire had to agree, it wasn't fair, so she reached behind her and undid her brassiere, yanking it off. Shane stared even more, and Claire could tell her nipples were perked. She could feel it. Better yet, she could feel Shane's warm palms on her bare breasts.

He massaged them, getting a moan from Claire. He yanked down his boxers, pulling them off, and Claire stared at his dick. The size of it. She let out a low whistle and Shane chuckled. "It's all yours," he whispered, making Claire feel tingly.

She could feel wetness between her legs, and Claire moaned louder when Shane moved her panties aside and slowly slid one finger into her pussy. He pumped it in and out, and she moaned louder, grinding against him.

Shane pulled his finger out and took her underwear off, leaving her as naked as he was. Shane lifted himself up on his forearms and Claire laid still as she felt his tip at her entrance. Shane moved it up and down her slit, making her even more wet.

"Shane," she groaned, sick of his teasing. That was what he was waiting for before he slowly slid into her. It hurt, but he didn't move or anything, just laid there, allowing her time to adjust to him.

Before too long, Claire started moving against him, ready to feel him move. He took the hint and slowly pulled out before thrusting back in. As it was Claire's first time, it hurt a hell of a lot and she cried out. First in pain, but as she got used to it, the cries soon turned into pleasured screams.

Shane was thrusting in and out of her fast now, and Claire was gripping the pillows by her head, arching her back every now and then.

After a while of thrusting, Claire felt her stomach tighten and didn't even have time to warn Shane before she came all over him. Soon after, Shane came into her, his thrusts getting sloppy afterwards.

He slowly pulled out of her and leant down to kiss her. His lips travelled down to her breasts, tugging and pulling at the still jaunty nipples. Claire arched up, allowing him more. After more playful teasing, Shane collapsed next to her.

She turned to face him, his hand sliding around her waist and onto her ass. He rubbed her bottom and stared deeply into her eyes. She traced the planes of his face down to his chest, and they were inches from a kiss when the door opened and a person quickly swore.

Shane quickly sat up and swore himself. "Alyssa! Haven't you ever heard of knocking! I'm fucking busy," he snapped.

"I see that," Alyssa snapped back. "I didn't fucking plan on walking in on you naked with a girl in your bed." Alyssa stepped out into the hallway and said, "And you're blind if you haven't seen her cuts yet."

When Alyssa was fully out of sight, Shane glanced down and saw the scars covering Claire's body. A gasp escaped his lips and he shot bolt upright, staring down at Claire, his lips open in surprise.

* * *

**So, if you did end up reading the whole thing, can you please let me know how it went and if you'd like more smut Or if I was completely horrible at it and should never do it again. Anyway, please, please, please Review! Love ya my lovelies Xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Just to catch you up if you didn't read past the line of the chapter before: Claire and Shane were resting in each other's arms after they had gotten down and dirty. Alyssa walked in (oops) and Shane yelled at her, then she yelled back, leaving, but before she left, she mentioned Claire's cut marks. (Bitch)**

* * *

"What the fuck Claire?" Shane yelled, jumping up from his bed.

Claire didn't say anything, just quickly threw her dress and underwear on and ran out into her room. When she reached her door, she pushed it open, banged it closed and dived on her bed, burying her face in her pillows.

Tears dripped into the pillow case and Claire let it all out. How had this day started at good, gone to bad, then got worrisome, then great, then awesome, and now depressing? It just didn't make sense!

Claire was still crying when she heard, "Claire? Can I come in?"

"Why? So you can ask me why I cut? Beg me to stop? Tell me it's disgusting and that it disappoints you? No, Shane, you can't come in."

There was silence until, "Well, what if my wanting to come in has nothing to do with your cuts? Hmm? It would be awkward to leave me out here for a reason that I'm not gonna bring up."

He had a point. She didn't know what he wanted; there was no proof that he wanted to talk about her harming herself. "Fine," she sighed, "come in." She heard the door creak open but still didn't look up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Claire looked up at that point. "Do I look like I'm alright?" she snapped at him.

"Honestly?" he asked. Claire nodded, and he said, "I think you look beautiful. I don't think that you have to hurt yourself to feel anything, I think you are a very generous person, Claire." Claire opened her mouth, but he stopped her. "I'm not gonna ask you to stop or to promise me you won't ever do that to yourself, I'm just telling you what I think."

Claire didn't even know how to answer. Is what Shane's saying true? Or is he just saying it because he felt bad for her? Either way, she couldn't help the warmth bubbling up in her stomach.

Shane looked at her and smiled. Then the smile disappeared and turned into a frown. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking down.

"About what?" Claire asked, confused.

"For taking your virginity," he stated.

Claire thought back and realised that she hadn't told him about that. "What makes you think I was a virgin?" she asked, sitting up.

"Well, are you?" he pressed. When Claire nodded, he said, "And there you go. I was right, I don't have to explain how I knew."

"But I want to know," Claire argued. "I want to know how you knew."

Shane sighed and his beautiful face had a slight blush creeping up. "You were inexperienced," he spat out, wincing at Claire's glare.

"Yeah? Well if you were sixteen and I was eighteen, I would have had the decency to ask if it was your first time or not. Sorry honey, but not all sixteen year olds are sluts like you would have thought." She wasn't sure why, but Claire was feeling really angry at the moment. Shane wasn't meaning to insult her, she knew that, but it still upset her to no end.

Shane looked up at her and she saw that the blush had intensified. "Claire, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to, it just happened. You're right, I should have had the decency to ask, but I didn't. I'm really regretting this. I mean, you're only sixteen, I should have taken better care."

"What you just said is true. It did just happen. You shouldn't have had to ask, I should have been smart enough to stop it at the kiss." What she said next really surprised her. "We can put it behind us and act as though it never happened. No one has to find out—Michael and Eve especially. Surely Alyssa wouldn't be mean enough to tell people."

The blush left Shane and he half smiled at her. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean, it was your first time."

"What was my first time? Watching movies in a room with a guy? Pfft. Don't flatter yourself."

Shane smiled and nodded. "Exactly. We watched movies and ate popcorn. Nothing happened except that you got scared of a zombie attacking someone."

"Horror movies? Really?" Claire fought.

Nodding faster, Shane said, "So that if Alyssa does tell anyone, then we can say that she mistook it. That we were just tangled together because you got scared and buried your face in my shoulder. Easy."

_For you_, Claire thought. _Me? I have to try to forget and lie about the fist time I had sex. Mind blowing, amazing, super hot sex._ "Easy," Claire agreed before shaking Shane's hand in agreement. He left and Claire gave up the act, burying her face back in the pillow. Before long, she was asleep, forgetting all about what had happened at that moment.

"Claire," someone whispered, shaking her shoulder. "Claire, dinner's ready."

"Hmm?" Claire moaned, moving the pillow over her head. "Go away."

Someone snickered and ripped the pillow from Claire's head. "CB, you've been sleeping all day, time to get up. C'mon, Michael got tacos for dinner."

"Yup," Claire said, grumbling and digging her head into her hands. "Tell them I'll be down there later."

"Claire," the person sighed, rolling her onto her back. The bed dipped down and Claire turned away and onto her stomach, yet again burying her head. "Danvers, get your ass up now," they demanded.

"Just disappear evil beast. Satan begone," she mumbled.

Someone let out an annoyed squeal and walked out, only returning to spray Claire with cold water. It dripped down Claire's back and she screamed.

"Hey," she protested, jumping up. Eve was standing there, a spray bottle in one hand and the other hand on her hip.

She smiled and asked, "You up yet?"

Claire narrowed her eyes, shaking the drops of water from her dress material and her skin. "I was up when the first drop of water hit me. That is freakin cold you know."

"I know. We keep it cold for when we have to try and get Shane up. Or me. Hell, even when we have to try and wake Michael up. Never thought I'd use it on you," she added. "It was fun."

Claire barged past Eve and walked down the stairs to the dinner table. Sure enough, Michael, Shane and Alyssa were at the table, waiting for Claire and Eve. "Take long enough?" Shane asked Eve when she joined Claire's side.

"You try waking her up next time," Eve snapped at Shane. "Had to spray her with the bottle."

Alyssa looked down and mumbled just loud enough, "I'm sure Shane would love to wake Claire up next time. Won't even have to use the bottle. What he'll need is beyond his waist."

Shane glared at Alyssa and turned back to Claire. Just as Eve opened her mouth, Claire interrupted. "Let's eat. I'm starving."

It wasn't a lot, but it was enough of a distraction that everyone seemed to drop it. Though Claire could have sworn she saw Michael look up at her and Shane every now and then.

After dinner, Claire did the washing and Michael did the drying up. "So," Michael started, seeming nervous for some reason. "I was just wondering…would you possibly consider being my, um, girlfriend?" Before Claire could even think about it, he went on. "Thing is, I've liked you since I fist saw you, Claire. And, I don't know if you've noticed, but Shane has obviously shown some sort of feeling toward you too. I guess what I'm trying to say is, that if it ever came to it, would you ever choose me over Shane?"

Did Michael know about Shane and Claire's little…party earlier on? Was he trying to get her to admit to it? "Michael, if it ever came to it, I wouldn't choose you. But I wouldn't choose Shane either. I don't take sides. But, if you are still offering, I would love to be your girlfriend."

Michael looked blank at first, but then he ran over to Claire and picked her up, spinning her around. "Really?" he asked, like he didn't believe it. Claire nodded. Thing was, she had feelings for him as well. Like she had feelings for Shane. Maybe even Myrnin. Truth be told, she was universally screwed.

What was she going to do? Myrnin had been her first kiss. Shane had been the first person she had slept with, and Michael had been her first serious date. They all had a piece of her. They all had been her first of something.

So in truth, she had a right to feel a bit of something for all of them. She just wasn't sure which man overpowered the rest. Which one of the three did she have the most feelings for? She wasn't sure, but she was positive she couldn't wait to see which male she would prefer as her own.

In that quick second, she had come up with a plan to make sure that she chose the right one. The one she really wanted to be with. The one who deserves her the most. Her plan is to…

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger. Haha, I do it cos I love you guys. **

**So, what did you think of this chapter? Do you think she should be with Michael, Shane, or Myrnin. Be sure to Review what you thought of this chapter, and please try to get more people to read the story. Bye lovely people. Xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**OMG, I'm sooo sorry. It's been ages since I've posted something. Anyway, I know it's short and please don't hate me for it. Anyway, feel free to Review about how the story's going. **

* * *

Once Michael let Claire go, she excused herself and went up to have a shower and get into her pyjamas. When she was in the shower, she went over her plan. She was going to talk to Shane tomorrow, today was too early, and confess her feelings for him. After that, she was going to ask him out, hoping that he said yes. She was going to tell him to keep a secret, to tell no one. Then she was going to do the same to Myrnin.

Although, she had to stretch to them that they could not tell **ANYONE**. Not even their closest friends. That was mainly for her benefit, but she couldn't let the three of them find out about each other. That would be way more than an awkward situation.

So, here she was, planning to date three guys for which she had feelings for, and waiting to see which one of them she would pick. Sure, it was a slutty plan, but she would only do it for two weeks. A month at the most. By then, she should know whom she would like to be her boyfriend. Sneaky, but cautious.

She couldn't let three perfectly good guys go just because she picked the wrong one. They all had traits she liked, she just had pick her favourite. Nice, kind, caring, gorgeous Michael; hot, dangerous, great at sex, can be sensitive Shane; or crazy, sexy, bipolar, sometimes caring Myrnin.

That was why her plan had to be in motion ASAP.

Noticing the water spitting cold, Claire turned it off and jumped out, looking around at the foggy room. She dried herself and pulled on her warm, fuzzy PJs. She walked out of the bathroom and crashed into Alyssa.

Alyssa was definitely someone that Claire didn't like. Had it not been for Alyssa, Shane wouldn't have known Claire's secret. Not this soon anyway. And even if he didn't know he was doing it, Shane was starting to treat Claire like a China doll: weak, vulnerable and fragile.

Three things she was most definitely NOT.

Alyssa stood staring at Claire, obviously waiting for her to move. Claire knew she should most likely get out of the way, but she couldn't help but stand there, glued to the spot.

After a minute of waiting, Alyssa seemed to have finally got annoyed. "Can you get out of the way?" she asked harshly.

"I could," Claire bit back. "But I don't know if I'm done with the bathroom. I think I may need to use the toilet."

"If you don't move, I'm going to pee. All over your foot," Alyssa snapped.

"Gee, now that you mention that…" Claire stopped her sentence and let Alyssa guess what she was going to do. "I probably should move. Too bad my legs don't feel like doing what I want them to do."

Alyssa growled and placed her hand on Claire's shoulder, shoving her out of the way. "Don't get in my way again," Alyssa warned Claire.

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my clothes," Claire sarcastically shot back.

"You're lucky I need to pee, Danvers." For some reason, those words sounded a lot like something Monica would say.

Claire shrugged and bounded off, but not before she called back, "You're lucky your brothers hot, Collins." Talking about Shane, Claire felt herself when she crashed right into him. "Shane, hey," Claire spurted. "How are you?"

"I'm actually feeling quite hot," Shane smirked, running his hands through his hair so that his muscles bulged.

Claire playfully rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny."

"_I_ thought so," Shane said before his smile left and he got serious. "What was that whole bickering thing then?" he asked, obviously referring to what happened with Alyssa.

"How much of that did you see? Or hear?" She hadn't been aware that someone had been looking on or listening into what was happening less than five minutes ago.

"Answer the question, Claire."

Claire huffed and said, quite innocently, "I didn't know if I was done with the bathroom. She pushed me, Shane. She laid a hand on me, not the other way around."

"Cut the crap," he said, massaging the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "You're not as innocent as you act. I see through you. No innocent would purposely harm themselves."

Breathing in deep, Claire said, "And now you just have to bring up the fact that I cut? Look, I'm sorry it ruins your perfect existence. I'll try to suffer in silence and not let you see next time." Claire tried to push past him, but Shane grabbed hold of her upper arm.

Shane twirled her around so that her face was buried in his chest. "I'm sorry, okay. That was wrong of me to bring up. Obviously you have your reasons. I just want you to know that I'm here for you to talk to if you ever need anyone. I don't care if I'm asleep, just talk to me whenever."

"Shane," she mumbled against his chest, "I appreciate that you want to help me, but can you just not? You're treating me like a little kid."

Shane sighed and said, "That's because you are. I don't know if you've noticed Claire, but you're only sixteen, not even a full adult yet."

"Geez, thanks Captain Obvious. I would never have guessed how old I was. But, Cap, do you think you could move out of the way? I'd rather not be here when your sister gets out."

Shane let go of her and looked into her eyes. "I don't get why you two can't just get along. You're both the same age, can't you do something that girls do? You know, tea parties? Makeovers? Something other than bicker."

"I would like to do that," Claire said. "But I'd like to do it with someone. That's less of a bitch."

"Then I wouldn't consider doing all those things with this ass I know called Claire Danvers. Biggest bitch in Morganville," a voice sounded behind Claire.

Immediately, Claire knew who it was. "Well, you must have been high when you were considering that. There's actually four Queen bitches in Morganville. Gina, Jennifer, Monica Morrell, and…" Claire paused for dramatic intake. "Alyssa Collins. Very abusive they are too."

"See what she says about me Shane? How could you just stand there and let her?"

Shane turned to walk away, but said, before he left, "Ask Eve or Michael to pick a side. I refuse to do so. I can't choose a side on petty little fights."

"You just don't want to pick a side because you're scared she'll never sleep with you again. The fact that you don't want her to harm herself may also be the cause. But guess what big bro? Sluts that cut will always go back for more no matter what you do. So even if you choose me, she'll—"

They didn't get to find out what Claire'll do because Alyssa was stopped mid sentence, a red glow on her cheek. Claire's hand was still raised, so she lowered it to her side. "Call me a slut one more time and mention the fact that I hurt myself again, and I might not be so generous. I'll do worse than slap you," Claire threatened.

Alyssa stood in one spot, her mouth open in a silent gasp. Claire turned on her heel and stormed to her room, a big smile rooted on her face. Locking the door behind her, Claire fell into bed. Tomorrow, her plan will be in action.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, I know I haven't updated for a while, but I've been busy with other stories I've been writing. If you have wattpad, or plan in getting it, you should totally follow _HeyEveryone15_, and read _New Life_. (It's my account name and my other story)**

* * *

It was barely light outside, but Claire had to get up. She wasn't sure why, though. Just that she had to get up. As she got to her feet, Claire stumbled out if her bedroom and into the hallway.

Reaching the stairs, Claire walked down them, her breathing erratic. Just as she was about to enter the kitchen, she heard a noise coming from outside. Walking to the front door, Claire looked out of the peephole. She couldn't see anything and was about to turn away when she heard a groan.

Claire looked out again, but only saw darkness. She looked around and saw an umbrella by the door. As she grabbed it, Claire finally opened the door slowly. When it was wide enough to see outside, Claire glanced down, surprised at what she saw.

"Michael," Claire gasped, opening the door more. She leant down to help him inside, but couldn't get him through. "Michael, why aren't you coming?"

"I-I can't," he stuttered. Claire gave him a questioning look in which he returned with a frown. "I-I've been turned."

"Into what?" Claire asked hysterically. Michael took a breath in and looked down. When he looked up, Claire saw fangs protruding from his gums. She screamed and slammed the door shut, her breathing uneven, her heart worse. "Shane! Eve!" she shouted, her lugs aching with her unevenness.

Shane tottered down the hallway, ending at the top of the stairway. "What?" he tried to shout, though it was muffled by his yawn. "It's too early. I'm going to bed."

"Michael's a vampire," Claire blurted, her voice rising.

That seemed to wake Shane up as he ran down the stairs and opened the door with strength. Michael was still lying there, his fangs out. "Hey buddy," Michael said awkwardly. "Think that maybe you could invite me in? The sun's coming up."

Shane stood there, his face expressionless. "What? Tell me this is just some sick joke that you and my sister are doing man. You can't be a vampire."

Michael reached for the doorway, but was cut short. "Not a joke."

Shane stood rooted to the ground, his body stiff. "Wha—"

"Shane, can you invite me in so we can talk. I'd rather not be out here when the sun comes up."

Shane just stood in the one place, his mouth opening, but no words coming out. Finally, Eve joined the scene. "What's goin on? Whatever it is, can't it wait till morning?" No one answered, so Eve turned to look at what everyone's eyes were trained to. "Michael?" she whispered.

"I'd ask you to invite me in, but I'd rather not see your expression. So now," he said, turning to Claire, "will you let me in?"

"Come in," she squeaked, earning a look from Shane who still didn't move. Michael came in and collapsed against the wall. All eyes seemed to be on him, and Eve let out a whimper before she took off upstairs.

Her bedroom door was slammed shut and that seemed to knock Shane out of his thoughts. With one look at Michael and Claire, Shane took off after his friend. "You haven't left?" Michael questioned. "Why?"

Claire shrugged and said, "I'm not gonna be that girl that ran away from her boyfriend just because he became a vampire."

Michael smiled, but it seemed pained. "Cheers."

Claire plopped down on the ground next to him and put her head on his shoulder. Michael wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close, putting his head on hers. A thought suddenly popped not Claire's head. "You're not gonna…you know…eat me, right?"

Michael shook his head and let out a chuckle. "I'm not gonna be that guy that ate his girlfriend just because her blood smelt good to him." Claire smiled and tucked further into him. "Besides, I fed before I came here."

Claire nodded and felt her eyes get droopy before she remembered that she still had at least an hour before she had to get up for school. Claire gave in and closed her eyes, ready to sleep on the hard, cold floor. The thought didn't bother her though, because it meant snuggling with Michael.

Her boyfriend dropped a kiss on her head and picked her up. "I can walk," Claire murmured, digging into Michael's chest.

"Mhm, but I'd rather carry you. You're tired." She couldn't exactly argue with that. With how tired her body was, Claire would have fallen up the steps or something.

"Okay," she whispered. Michael placed her on her bed and turned to leave until Claire stopped him. "Stay with me?"

Michael looked as though he wanted to, but he shook his head. "No. I-I can't tonight. Goodnight Claire." When Michael left, Claire had to admit, she felt a little upset that he didn't stay. But worse, even though they were dating, she felt friend zoned.

* * *

**I know it's short and pretty bad, but it's an update anyway. Basically just a filler. Anyhow, with that said, please Review, Favourite and Follow. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. Thank you lovely, beautiful people. Xx**


	16. Chapter 16

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Claire woke up and grabbed her alarm clock, throwing it at the wall. "Shut up you stupid, rotten, metal piece of sh—"

A cough came and Claire shot up, meeting eyes with Michael. She pulled the covers up tighter to her neck, covering the singlet she was wearing. Michael watched her intently, tilting his head this way and that.

"Michael, hey," Claire said surprised, her eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed. "What are ya doing in here?" Michael didn't answer, instead he left. "Okay then," she mumbled to herself. She got up and stumbled to the bathroom, her thoughts clouded with confusion. She opened the door and walked in.

"Do you mind?" someone shouted. Claire looked around and caught sight of Shane, his face pinched with anger.

Claire's hands flew to her eyes. "Oh, no. I'm so sorry. I-I'm going now," she stuttered, turning to the door. Her hands were still covering her eyes, so she didn't see the door before she crashed into it. She dropped her hands, opening the door and running out. "Damn, that was the second person Claire. You need to knock before opening the door. Even if you're half asleep, God dammit," she mumbled to herself.

Not long after, Shane walked out, blue jeans covering his legs and a tight black shirt stretching along his torso. "Dammit Claire. You need to knock before you enter, even if you're half asleep," Shane mocked. "And who else did you walk in on?"

Claire felt her jaw clench as she got ready to yell at Shane. "God-fucking-zilla," Claire spat, before walking away.

She reached the bottom of the stairs when Alyssa barged past her. "Watch out, freak," Alyssa yelled at her.

"Don't talk to me like that. We don't want a repeat from last night, do we?" Claire smirked.

Alyssa raised her eyebrows at Claire and shook her head. "I honestly think you wouldn't dare touch me. You're too much of a wimp. Nerds don't fight back, my friend."

Claire bit her tongue and clenched her fists by her sides. Her mother and father always did complain about how bad her temper was, but they never did anything about it. Mary would help her deal with it, but since she wasn't here...

"This nerd would," Claire bit out.

Alyssa stood up straight, her hands stretching out wide by her sides. "Come at me then," Alyssa smirked.

Claire couldn't take it. She jumped at Alyssa, her fists out front. Alyssa moved to the side, Claire landing flat on her stomach. "Ugh," she groaned, lifting herself up by her hands. Alyssa kicked her side, sending Claire to roll over onto her back.

Claire sat up, but Alyssa kicked her chest, making her lie back down. "Tell my dear brother I've gone out. I'll be back whenever."

Alyssa left, and Claire held her hands to her chest, trying to breathe. "Shit," she coughed, trying her hardest to get up. Footsteps were making there way over to her, the rhythm soon turning fast.

"Claire," a cry came. Claire looked up to see Eve bending over her. When Eve saw that Claire was still conscious, she put her hand out to help her up.

"Thanks," Claire wheezed when she was on her feet. "That little skank," she muttered to herself.

Eve waved a hand in front of Claire's eyes and brought her attention back. "Who's the skank?" she asked.

"Alyssa," Claire answered back. Eve asked what happened and Claire told her, no hesitation. Over the past few days, Claire's grown close to Eve. She wasn't like other girls, she was better. She didn't whinge over a broken nail, or whine if her hair didn't look good enough for the day.

Eve listened to what Claire said, barely batting an eye. When Claire finished, Eve was silent for a few minutes. "I didn't think she would be the type of girl to do that. Alyssa's always been so nice to me. Although she did tell Shane one time that I scare her. That could be why she never acts anything but nice to me."

Claire laughed, a real laugh, and scolded herself immediately. "I don't know why this hurts so much. I should be used to it by now."

Eve scoffed and walked over to Claire. "No one gets used to it, believe me," she said, holding Claire up and walking her to the lounge room. They got to the living room, but before Eve could plonk Claire onto the couch, a wave of nausea came over her.

"Oh, no," Claire said, limping upstairs to the toilet. She collapsed to her knees and vomited into the bowl, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Are you okay?" Eve asked worried.

"I should be fine," Claire replied, standing up. "I guess she just hit a soft spot."

Eve nodded and the two of them went back to kitchen, throwing pop tarts into the toaster. "Just because I am so awesome at cooking," Eve said, indicating to the breakfast.

As if smelling the food, Shane came into the kitchen. "Sup?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"What's got you splitting your face in two?" Eve asked, getting down plates.

"I have a date," Shane replied, "and a new place to stay."

Eve dropped the plates on the counter, almost smashing them in the process. "What the actual fuck Shane? What's this shit about a new place to live?"

Shane sighed and shook his head. "I'm not living in the same house as a bloodsucker," he sneered. "Even if he wears the mask of my best friend."

At that time did Michael decide to come down. "Hello," he said, his voice full of sleep. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, the colour turning to a muddy red. "Someone's bleeding," he said in worry. "Is everything alright?"

Eve blushed and bit her lip. "Michael, I-it's that t-time of the month," she stuttered, embarrassed.

"Oh," Michael flushed, looking down. "I'm sorry. All I know is that I smelt blood and got worried."

"Was that before or after you finished your plans to suck that person dry?" Shane snapped, marching off.

Eve sighed and popped the pop tarts up. "I guess I should go check what's up his ass," she said as she took two plates up.

Michael shook his head and sat down on a chair. "It's all my fault. It's all my fault they hate me. I shouldn't have gone out at night. I should have abided to the rules. I'm such an idiot."

"You're not an idiot. And it's not your fault. Obviously you're meant to be a vampire for a reason. Everything happens for a reason, Michael."

Michael cracked a smile and placed a kiss on Claire's forehead when he got up. "Whoever implanted those words in your head knows good wisdom." Michael left and Claire grabbed her plate, sitting down as she reminisced on the past.

**FLASHBACK**

"I just think it's unfair," Claire whined to Mary. "How is that even though we're sisters, you're popular and I'm not. I wanna be one of those girls, Mary."

Mary sighed and put her eyeliner down, turning to Claire who was sitting on Mary's double bed. "Claire, it just happened, okay. Stop whinging about it. You're giving me a major headache. Just do me a favour and shut up, alright? I'm trying to do my make up, and you're just whining. It might be because I'm pretty and you're…you. Anyway, just be quiet."

Claire jumped up and stormed out of her sister's room, making sure to slam the door for emphasis. "Bitch," Claire grumbled, walking to her room to get ready for school. She chucked on faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt with sneakers, nothing special.

"Girls, the bus is here," Claire's mother yelled from the doorway.

"And here we go. Another day of pure Hell," Claire muttered to herself in the mirror. On her way out, she crashed into Mary. Her older sister was wearing a red spaghetti strapped dress that reached inches above her knee, and her light brown hair was straightened to perfection. Her makeup? Wow, you don't wanna know how amazing it looks.

Claire tried to walk straight past her, but Mary grabbed Claire's wrist. Pain shot through Claire's wrist and made her hiss, which grabbed Mary's attention. Mary lifted up the sleeve of the light cardigan Claire had put on and looked at her sister's wrist.

Mary placed a kiss to the cuts on Claire's wrist and said to her, "You know I love you. I'm sorry for what I said back there. You are beautiful Claire. As for this," she indicated to Claire's cuts, "everything happens for a reason." Her sister walked down the stairs, Claire following behind.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Claire felt tears escape her eyes when she thought back to that memory. God did she miss her sister. The way Mary helped her through things. The way that her sister would be there no matter what happened.

If Mary were here now…

"Oh, shit," Claire yelped, jumping up. She quickly ran upstairs and got changed, slipping her phone in her pocket. She ran out the door, running up the street. Thing was, she didn't know where the heck Founder's Square was. Or how to get there.

"Need a ride?" a voice came.

* * *

**Please let me know how this story's going. Tell me if you're enjoying it. If you have any ideas, please feel free to message me. Remember to _Follow_ and _Review_. Thanks lovely people. Xx**


End file.
